Josh O’Connor Lights Up Cannes With ‘The Mastermind’ World Premiere

In the end, Josh O’Connor made it to Cannes.

The La Chimera and Challengers actor was unable to make the Wednesday evening premiere of Oliver Hermanus’ The History of Sound, in which he stars alongside Paul Mescal, as he was still shooting in New York, working on Steven Spielberg’s new film. But O’Connor was given time away from the as-yet-untitled sci-fi project and caught a flight to Cannes Thursday night, meaning he was fresh and ready for Friday’s red carpet premiere of Kelly Reichardt‘s The Mastermind.

Reichardt and O’Connor walked the carpet, joined by castmembers Alana Haim, John Magaro and Hope Davis.

Others in attendance included Viola Davis, strolling along in a stunning yellow gown, with husband Julius Tennon; Elle Fanning, a day after her red carpet premiere for Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value; and Isabella Ferrari. How to Have Sex director Molly Manning Walker, who heads this year’s Un Certain Regard jury, danced up the Mastermind red carpet, followed by Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, a member of the 2025 competition jury.

After the screening, polite applause greeted Reichardt and the cast when the house lights came up, with cheers and the occasional whoop as the Cannes camera panned over the team behind the film.

O’Connor got his share of the attention, but when Reichardt came into frame, chants of “Kelly! Kelly!” rolled through the room. The film’s somber tone, and the clear analogy between the ’70s-era moral and political decline depicted and today’s America likely hampered a more boisterous response.

After thanking the audience, and the festival, Reichardt got to the point.

“America’s in a ditch at the moment,” she said. “Maybe we’ll get out of it. But until then, we have the movies. At least for a little while.” After a pause, she added: “Don’t give up on us.”

Reichardt’s new feature is a crime drama set in the 1970s, focusing on an art heist in Massachusetts. O’Connor stars as James Blaine Mooney, the “mastermind” behind the robbery. Licorice Pizza star Haim plays his wife, Terri Mooney. The film’s ensemble cast includes Magaro, Davis, Bill Camp, Gaby Hoffmann, Amanda Plummer, Eli Gelb, Cole Doman, Javion Allen, Matthew Maher and Rhenzy Feliz.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s head critic, David Rooney, gave Reichardt’s latest a rave, calling the understated drama a “funny-sad heist movie like no other” and “an artful exercise in genre reinvention.”

This is Reichardt’s third trip to Cannes, following her well-received competition entry Showing Up three years ago, and Wendy and Lucy (2008), which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section. Both films starred Michelle Williams, a frequent Reichardt collaborator.

Art house distributor and streamer Mubi will release The Mastermind in North and Latin America and in select territories, including the U.K. and Germany. The Match Factory is handling international sales.