Tár
Cert: 15 | ★★★★★
Multi Oscar-winning Aussie actor Cate Blanchett is simply phenomenal as a fictional classical conductor in the midst of a career crisis in this hugely engaging drama from Little Children director Todd Field. Tár premiered at last year’s Venice International Film Festival in September 2022 where Blanchett won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
Written by Field and featuring an outstanding score by Oscar-nominated Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir — who is known for her work on Todd Philip’s Joker i n 2019 and the acclaimed miniseries Chernobyl — the film also features some impressive turns from the always brilliant Mark Strong, Portrait of a Lady on Fire star Noémie Merlant and prolific German film and television actor Nina Hoss.
Widely considered as one of the greatest living composer-conductors, Lydia Tár has grown accustomed to not only getting her own way, but has also learnt to take the accolades and tributes in her stride with a nonchalant attitude and false humility.
Lydia’s usually meticulously planned day-to-day life — thanks to her dutiful assistant Francesca (Merlant) — takes a turn for the unpredictable when a series of PR disasters leave her incredulous.
Rattled by attacks by disgruntled former students and accusations of infidelity by her long-suffering wife Sharon (Hoss), Lydia’s troubles reach a crescendo of monumental proportions when allegations of sexual misconduct threaten to end her career.
Tar 1
Blanchett in a scene from Tár
Fields cleverly flips gender roles on their head by portraying Lydia, the principal conductor for a major German orchestra, as a deeply pretentious individual cosplaying as an earnest tortured genius. It is genuinely hard to imagine anyone but Blanchett being able to pull this off so successfully.
Lydia Tár is the kind of monster one can’t help but root for, even at her worst thanks to Blanchett’s performance.
Tár is undoubtedly Todd Field’s best work yet. He has given us a film that cleverly pushes the boundaries and leaves its audience battling with its own prejudices as he broaches — with a degree of dark humour — everything from cancel culture to #MeToo.
This is a clever and hugely engaging piece of filmmaking that leaves you questioning your own prejudices and sympathies.
