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Tár

Tár is writer/director Todd Field's third feature after the earnest In the Bedroom and Little Children, and this extends his self-initiated remit of homing in on touchy, difficult subject matter. In this film, Lydia Tár is a famous, and famously headstrong, conductor, who is currently fronting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. She's played by Cate Blanchett in a role that virtually peals, 'Oscar, Oscar, Oscaaaaar.' Blanchett is great, as usual, but she runs very close to, "I'm acting, dahling," at some points - I'm thinking specifically of the on-stage interview session and the lesson at Julliard.

That lesson scene is probably where the film sets out it's stall, but I'm still not entirely sure what Field is saying with it. In this awkward conducting workshop class, Lydia gently, then more insultingly, chides a student for not being able to appreciate the music of composers unlike, or antithetical to, themselves - the old 'art' vs 'artist' conundrum. Do Field's loyalties lie with his protagonist, or with the students? Or is he having a bit each way? It's a fairly balanced handling of the whole 'cancel culture' phenomenon, but going by how detestable Lydia is, I'd say we're gently ushered away from her feelings on the subject.

I say detestable but there's more nuance to her than just being an unlikeable presence. She has a few great parenting scenes, and is clearly a driven perfectionist, who has risen to the top of her artistic field, but the audience's sympathies are supposed to lie with the more humane humans that appear in her orbit. Her partner, Sharon (Nina Hoss), her assistant, Francesca (Noémie Merlant) and the co-founder of her organisation, Eliot (Mark Strong), all exude more reason and sense, especially in the case of Lydia's flirtations. Two of the subjects of these dalliances (past and present) drive the plot towards Lydia's trough, and when the inappropriate shit hits the fan, the pile-on begins.

This final third of the film reminded me of the excellent Jon Ronson book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed, and it's curious to note just how much or little remorse Lydia shows regarding her predicament. It's best to leave the finale to be enjoyed (if that's the best term), but there's a lot of meat to chew on the bones of this film, as long as you can tolerate the odd pretentious gristle.

Tár opens in Australia on Jan 26th.

See also:

Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (2014) won Blanchett her leading role Oscar, but I reckon her best performance is in Rowan Woods' Little Fish (2005).

(Film stills and trailer ©Universal, 2023)

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