The ever-versatile Josh O’Connor, known for his powerful breakout role in GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, his star turn in CHALLENGERS and his BAFTA award winning performance as King Charles in THE CROWN, is back on the big screen this October. Josh O’Connor takes on his most complex character yet as J.B. Mooney, an unemployed carpenter turned petty art thief, a performance that showcases yet another side to O’Connors range and further cements his place as one of Hollywood’s most talented young stars.
THE MASTERMIND, directed by celebrated filmmaker Kelly Reichardt (First Cow, Certain Women, Wendy and Lucy) received its World Premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or. The film has since gone on to receive widespread critical acclaim.
Rich in autumnal colours and tone, THE MASTERMIND is an exciting, distinctive heist movie that makes for perfect October viewing. Heavily influenced by 1970s New Hollywood cinema in style and tone, and featuring an energetic, evocative jazz score the film transports audiences to 70s Massachusetts where we meet Mooney, a man smart enough to get into trouble, but not smart enough to get out of it. He has his eyes on some easy money and plots his first big heist with a ragtag gang, orchestrating a daring daylight raid on a small local art museum to steal a series of abstract paintings. When things go fully haywire, Mooney’s world begins to unravel.
The film reshapes the classic heist movie into a quiet study of one man’s decisions and their unforeseen outcomes. Josh O’Connor gives a persuasive performance as Mooney, a man riddled by disappointment and a keen sense of his own lack of achievements, who craves something bigger than his family and small-town life can offer. Critics have been quick to highlight O’Connor’s strong central performance as Mooney, with IGN calling it “Career best work from Josh O’Connor” while Vulture flagged it as “Josh O’Connor’s best performance.”
O’Connor is joined in THE MASTERMIND by a sparkling Alana Haim, in a radiant follow up to her debut turn in Licorice Pizza. O’Connor and Haim star alongside a brilliant ensemble cast of character actors including John Magaro (Past Lives, First Cow), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls), Bill Camp (12 Years a Slave, Joker) and Hope Davis (American Splendor, Synecdoche, New York).
Thrilling, complex and intriguing, don’t miss THE MASTERMIND, when it comes to Irish cinemas on October 24th.
THE MASTERMIND is in Irish cinemas from October 24
