Admittedly, there have been some incredibly foolhardy heists in recent history but because the lead-up to this one has been so perfunctory, it falls far short of its comic potential. The film is billed as a tragi-comedy but the tonal shifts don’t really work. For farce, you need bustle, panic and exaggeration, and they don’t suit Reichardt’s style.

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She prefers to lurk in the shadows with J.B. – sometimes literally. There’s an extended sequence when the screen almost goes dark as we follow his efforts in heaving the paintings into his chosen hiding place. By now, he’s in all sorts of trouble although Reichardt’s fondness for the downbeat keeps the pivotal action offscreen. Instead, her focus remains on J.B. as his life is upended, his wife turns against him, and he goes on the run without really conceding that he’s to blame for his predicament.

There are some ruefully humorous moments, the funniest involving his unflappable son, Tommy (Jasper Thompson), who regards his father’s mystifying behaviour with a mature air of bemused curiosity. But O’Connor, who’s becoming an expert in deeply flawed characters, plays it straight and J.B. emerges as being too selfish and self-deluding to inspire your sympathy.

The Mastermind is in cinemas from October 23