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Tar
An extraordinary performance by Cate Blanchett that could earn her a third Oscar anchors Tar, a pretentious and long-winded dramatic character study that is mad with extraordinary film technique which is eventually dwarfed by its severe overlength.
The 2022 film stars Blanchett as Lydia Tar, a world renowned composer and orchestra conductor looking forward to the release of her book and becoming the first female conductor of a German symphony. Sadly, the incredible accomplishments of Tar's career are about to be eclipsed thanks to some questionable decisions in her personal lkife.
This film has the privilege of being written and directed by the gifted Todd Field, whose resume includes In the Bedroom, Little Children, and playing Nick Nightingale in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, so challenging and squirm worthy stories are nothing new to him and he employs skills from all his work into the mounting of this story. It starts off with the central character being interviewed on an Inside the Actor's Studio-type TV show that initially gives the film an almost documentary feel. It feels so authentic that one might be tempted to google Lydia Tar to find out whether she was a real person, like the first time I saw Zelig. However, as the film progresses, the onscreen analysis of Lydia Tar becomes more personal, more intimate, more voyeuristic...the story feels like it's being told from the point of view of a private detective who has been hired to tail Tar. There are so many scenes shot from afar or off the center of the screen, like the camera's not supposed to be there.
There is no denying that Field has created a fascinating central character in Lydia Tar and has forced Blanchett to do the work required to give the performance as much authenticity as possible. This role requires Blanchett to play more than one musical instrument, conduct, and speak fluent German, all of which she makes appear effortless. There are a few scenes with Blanchett and the German orchestra where she floats effortlessly between English and German without missing a beat. Her conducting was also far superior to JK Simmons' conducting in Whiplash...more passionate and more technical.
Unfortunately, Field does get a little full of himself padding screentime with stuff that adds nothing to the story. We get several shots of Tar jogging that add nothing to the story, the most aggravating of which is a scene where she hears a woman screaming while she's jogging and trying to figure out where the screaming is coming from that goes dark with no resolution and we think Field is going to get back to it, but he never does. It's initially a very titillating scene that just comes off as a missed opportunity.
The film is technically splendid including first rate cinematography and production design. Ironically, for a movie about music and musicians, the film barely had any music score, except for what was produced by the orchestra but it's not really missed. But more than anything, it is the sizzling and emotionally demanding work by Cate Blanchett that energizes this film and will make Blanchett a dead lock for a Best Actress nomination this year. Sadly, not even Blanchett's work can justify this film's two hour and thirty eight minute length.
An extraordinary performance by Cate Blanchett that could earn her a third Oscar anchors Tar, a pretentious and long-winded dramatic character study that is mad with extraordinary film technique which is eventually dwarfed by its severe overlength.
The 2022 film stars Blanchett as Lydia Tar, a world renowned composer and orchestra conductor looking forward to the release of her book and becoming the first female conductor of a German symphony. Sadly, the incredible accomplishments of Tar's career are about to be eclipsed thanks to some questionable decisions in her personal lkife.
This film has the privilege of being written and directed by the gifted Todd Field, whose resume includes In the Bedroom, Little Children, and playing Nick Nightingale in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, so challenging and squirm worthy stories are nothing new to him and he employs skills from all his work into the mounting of this story. It starts off with the central character being interviewed on an Inside the Actor's Studio-type TV show that initially gives the film an almost documentary feel. It feels so authentic that one might be tempted to google Lydia Tar to find out whether she was a real person, like the first time I saw Zelig. However, as the film progresses, the onscreen analysis of Lydia Tar becomes more personal, more intimate, more voyeuristic...the story feels like it's being told from the point of view of a private detective who has been hired to tail Tar. There are so many scenes shot from afar or off the center of the screen, like the camera's not supposed to be there.
There is no denying that Field has created a fascinating central character in Lydia Tar and has forced Blanchett to do the work required to give the performance as much authenticity as possible. This role requires Blanchett to play more than one musical instrument, conduct, and speak fluent German, all of which she makes appear effortless. There are a few scenes with Blanchett and the German orchestra where she floats effortlessly between English and German without missing a beat. Her conducting was also far superior to JK Simmons' conducting in Whiplash...more passionate and more technical.
Unfortunately, Field does get a little full of himself padding screentime with stuff that adds nothing to the story. We get several shots of Tar jogging that add nothing to the story, the most aggravating of which is a scene where she hears a woman screaming while she's jogging and trying to figure out where the screaming is coming from that goes dark with no resolution and we think Field is going to get back to it, but he never does. It's initially a very titillating scene that just comes off as a missed opportunity.
The film is technically splendid including first rate cinematography and production design. Ironically, for a movie about music and musicians, the film barely had any music score, except for what was produced by the orchestra but it's not really missed. But more than anything, it is the sizzling and emotionally demanding work by Cate Blanchett that energizes this film and will make Blanchett a dead lock for a Best Actress nomination this year. Sadly, not even Blanchett's work can justify this film's two hour and thirty eight minute length.