While she has dropped world premieres at Sundance and Venice (plus Telluride), Kelly Reichardt has been flirting with Cannes on three occasions total (plus when she was feted by the Quinzaine folks with the Carrosse d’Or award). It began with 2008’s Un Certain Regard selected Wendy and Lucy, and she would shore up in the comp with Showing Up (read our ★★★½ review) in 2002 and now returns almost at the end of the fest once again with The Mastermind – which on paper appears to be here most promising acquisitions title in some bit. The American independent cinema stalwart was instantly admired for River of Grass and Old Joy, with some of her best work coming from Meek’s Cutoff, Certain Women (read our ★★★★½ review) and First Cow (read our ★★★½ review).
The final film in the field of twenty-two competition films, a heist movie, this revolves around James Mooney (O’Connor), who orchestrates an audacious art heist against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the country’s burgeoning women’s liberation movement. As he engages in this daring criminal endeavor, he must navigate a world marked by shifting social and political dynamics. Toplined by Josh O’Connor and Alana Haim, we also have her muse John Magaro, Hope Davis, Bill Camp, Gaby Hoffmann, and Amanda Plummer in the mix. Production took place in the fall of last year and to her credit, Reichardt probably was on a hardcore schedule to make the Cannes deadline. Worth notinbg, she re-teams with her regular cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt.
The last, and first time Reichardt was in competition, our 2022 Cannes Critics’ Panel were swooned giving Showing Up an average score of 3.0. Once again being showcased in the final remaining hours of the festival, we currently only have nine critics sending in their grades for an average combined score of 2.7 This will likely change.
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