THE MASTERMIND: A Different Kind of Heist Film

THE MASTERMIND (Blu-ray)

2025 / 110 min

MUBI

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Burglar😸

You know what’s worse than losing everything? When it’s all your fault you’ve lost everything, and everyone who used to bail you out (family and friends) has finally bailed on you. Worse still , you remain oblivious to the enormity of the problems you’ve created for yourself. That’s JB (Josh O’Connor) in a nutshell.

Maybe part of the reason The Mastermind resonated with me was because, in some ways, I was once kind-of like JB before finally pulling my head out of my butt and growing up a little. But at least I didn’t resort to robbery.

Set during 1970, JB is the mastermind of the title, an unemployed designer with a wife, Terri (Alana Haim), and two sons. Not only is he an irresponsible father, we immediately get the impression Terri, who works to support them, isn't all that happy with him. As the film opens, he plans a museum heist of four valuable paintings, enlisting a few local thieves to carry-out the robbery…and borrowing money from his exasperated mother in order to pay them (though he tells her it's for a job he’s been hired for).

JB is so confident in his “meticulous” plan that it doesn’t occur to him that anything could go wrong. In reality, it’s a pretty foolish idea not too far removed from a smash & grab, and it’s quite clear he didn’t really think things through (an amusing observation later made by a couple of other characters). Things go as planned until one of his accomplices is caught and fingers JB as the mastermind behind the crime. Soon, the FBI is looking for him. To make matters worse, local mobsters find JB and force him to give them the stolen paintings.

JB traded the paintings for that sandwich. But in his defense, it was a really good sandwich.

Leaving his family behind, JB goes on the run with no real plan other than visiting old friends in hopes that they’ll help him. What’s fascinating (at least to me) is that at no time does JB appear aware of the gravity of his situation. He’s thrown his entire life away, and as we watch his downward spiral, he expresses no remorse over the people he’s affected. Even during a phone call to Terri, he offers a half-hearted apology before asking her to wire him money. Everything culminates in a conclusion that’s both ironic and bleakly amusing.

Though obstinately a heist film, The Mastermind is no Rififi. In a way, it’s kind of an anti-Rififi with an overly-confident slacker who isn’t nearly as brilliant as he thinks he is (and his cohorts are even dumber). We don’t sympathize with JB, either. After all, the guy just took a massive crap in his own nest and some viewers might find perverse pleasure in watching his life fall apart. Whatever we think of him, JB is a brilliantly conceived character and played with an effectively low-key performance by O’Connor. Because I saw a bit of the old me in him, I was simultaneously engaged and uncomfortable. 

Some might be put-off by the film’s tone and glacial pace. The Mastermind is definitely a slow burn, its narrative growing increasingly episodic, with scenes that seem pretty meandering if taken at face value. But there’s actually a lot going on in those scenes, even the ones without dialogue, all of which shape JB’s character and other people’s feelings about him. Afterwards, I briefly wondered what the hell I just watched, but as someone who’s seen more heist films than the Surgeon General recommends, it was refreshing to see the genre turned on its ear. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

THE MASTERMIND: UNWINDING THE HEIST FILM is an interesting analytical video essay.

Slow RIDE

RIDE (Blu-ray)

2024 / 114 min

FROM WELL GO USA

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bull Buster😽

I’m not quite sure what I expected from Ride - if anything - but it certainly isn’t what I initially thought it would be. That’s not to say it was disappointing. The film wasn’t on my radar or watch-list, and as a reviewer, it’s difficult to be let down by a movie I probably wouldn’t have chosen to see on my own.

Still, the press release suggests something akin to a neo-noir thriller centered around a robbery, probably because it's a lot harder to sell a film that’s primarily a character study of a fractured family, even one with a quasi-romantic backdrop of the modern rodeo circuit. 

Director/co-writer Jake Allyn stars as Peter Hawkins, just released from prison after doing four years for vehicular manslaughter, which also resulted in seriously injuring his little sister, Virginia. Because of the accident - the result of his drug addiction - Jake is estranged from his parents, former bull rider John (C. Thoms Howell) and local sheriff Monica (Annabeth Gish). However, his grandfather (Forrie J. Smith) has since forgiven him, mainly because he’s also a ex-rodeo veteran and alcoholic who’s since dedicated himself to helping others recover. 

"Way-to-mosey, boy!"

Additionally, Virginia has been diagnosed with cancer. Even with insurance, the Hawkins family can’t afford the treatment program that could save her life, nor can John draw an early pension to help pay for it. A bull rider himself, Jake enters a rodeo competition with a $10,000 prize in hopes of helping out (and seeking a little redemption along the way). Though he wins, John also owes money to his drug dealer & ex-cellmate, Tyler (Patrick Murney), who plans to collect. Meanwhile, John refuses Jake’s money, not only because he assumes his son got it illegally, it’s still not enough to cover the treatment (it’s never explained how John is completely unaware his son just won the rodeo). 

The entire first hour of Ride is dedicated to Jake’s struggles with addiction, John’s efforts to raise money and the family’s troubled relationships. The characters are thoughtfully conceived and bolstered by dedicated performances, Howell’s in particular. But overall, the languid pace and consistently solemn tone might be off-putting anyone expecting much in the way of action, in or out of the arena. 

It’s only when Jake eventually insists on robbing Tyler’s house to get the needed cash that the film, however briefly, becomes anything resembling a thriller. With themes of redemption and forgiveness driving the narrative, Ride is mostly a well-meaning character portrait that might resonate with others who’ve experience similar crises, but until the resolution that wraps things up a little too neatly, it ain’t exactly a feel-good film.

EXTRA KIBBLES

CAST INTERVIEWS - 7 Individual interviews with the main cast.

TRAILER