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.

Jauntier than any of Kelly Reichardt’s previous work, “The Mastermind” packs an ironic punch. That the title need not be taken literally becomes clear right from the start, of course; that the film’s shaggy-dog tone belies something far-sadder and more allegorical takes a bit longer to set-in.