Josh O'Connor (JB Mooney) in 'The Mastermind,' directed by Kelly Reichardt. CONDOR
Le Monde's verdict – Must see
In Kelly Reichardt's work, the mood is almost always diffuse and misty. As photographers might say, her characters rarely come into sharp focus, tending toward uncertain wandering, doubt and a kind of numbness – much like the figures in the films of her Portland, Oregon contemporary Gus Van Sant. Their feelings are too mixed or vaporous, permeating the very texture of her films, which are consistently shot on grainy 16-millimeter film and bathed in a palette of grays, browns and sandy beiges.
Happiness or serenity does not come easily to them, much like the two childhood friends hiking through the forest in Old Joy, Reichardt's second film that brought her international recognition in 2006. One could not tell if the "old joy" of the title was something still present and active, or if it had simply vanished, out of reach.
There is one notable exception: the protagonists of First Cow (2019), a languid, small-scale western – arguably Reichardt's masterpiece to date, alongside Certain Women (2016). First Cow is set in the rugged Oregon of 1820, where an American and a Chinese man form a close friendship, likely romantic. The American is nicknamed "Cookie" for his skills in the kitchen, especially in baking. When they learn that a local dignitary has bought a cow – the first in the neighboring settlement – they decide to secretly milk it by night to make cakes they can sell in the village. These treats are eagerly snatched up in this world of mud. The pair experience the thrill of having found a path, an escape, even if it means turning theft into delight – and into art.
