Tár is another 2022 film that has been sweeping the awards circuits largely due to the magnetic performance of Cate Blanchett in the title role. She’s already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama and she seems poised to capture her third Oscar. I think the movie manages a good but not great quality throughout.
Blanchett stars as Lydia Tár, a composer who works mainly in Berlin and is about to conduct a live session of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. She also teaches at Julliard, where she encourages children taking music to make that their sole focus.
Tár also meets a variety of people, including a banker (Mark Strong) who is highly supportive of female conductors rising. Julian Glover costars as Lydia’s forerunner, and the two talk philosophically about the world they share, which is the proscenium. He tries to give her the necessary guidance to endure the uncharted waters that lie ahead of her lofty ambitions.
However, just when things are going great for Lydia, she is shell-shocked by news of the suicide of one of her colleagues, who Lydia is accused of having ostracized from orchestras Lydia was conducting. This takes a personal toll on many of Lydia’s relationships.
Tár was written and directed by Todd Field and while he does a fine job, it’s really Blanchett’s stage. She inhabits the role with commitment, pathos, and a real sense of the demons she is facing both in and out. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up nabbing that third Oscar. Every scene with her is truly dynamic and she demonstrates once again why she is one of the absolute best actresses of her generation.
Field does a good job crafting how these characters are devoted to music, and those scenes really shine, but the personal moments are the ones that only generate a halfhearted interest for me. I wish he would’ve gone a little further and tried more to engage me, but I never got quite completely involved. I would’ve been more interested if he added onto scenes where we do get to see Lydia’s genuine frustration or tension and expanded on it. As it is, he only gives us brief moments that almost shine.
Nevertheless, I am recommending Tár solely on Blanchett’s phenomenal performance that helps make this a very entertaining, albeit not entirely engrossing, film.
Mrs. Blanchett, I look forward to hearing the orchestra play after your acceptance speech.
Grade: B+
(Rated R for some language and brief nudity.)
