Tár, 2022.
Written and Directed by Todd Field.
Starring Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Mark Strong, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, Sophie Kauer.
SYNOPSIS:
Set in the international world of Western classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra.
Since its premiere in Venice, Tár has earned some of the strongest reviews of any film on the awards and festival circuit. It sees the long anticipated return to the director’s chair of Todd Field following 2001’s In The Bedroom and 2006’s Little Children – both of which earned rave reviews and awards nominations aplenty.
Needless to say Tár was anticipated title, coupled with Cate Blanchett in the lead role as conductor Lydia Tár, who’s fall from grace is the central narrative in this a wonderful marriage between a director and actor at the top of their games. Blanchett is a strong favourite to land her third Academy Award following previous Oscars for The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, and is fresh off picking up her fourth Golden Globe for the film.
Lydia is a successful (fictional) conductor the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. We immediately see that she is something of a perfectionist and a difficult person to work with, accompanied by her assistant Francesca (Noémie Merlant). Over the course of the 2 ½ hour runtime we see a number of ghosts and regrets haunting Lydia and stripping her of much of her status and relationships with those closest to her.
It is a clever play on cancel culture and abuses of power with one of the central plots involving Lydia’s obsession with a former student Krista Taylor who has committed suicide, leaving a series of scathing allegations against Lydia. This comes as she becomes infatuated with her latest protégé Olga, played by real-life musician Sophie Kauer, who more than manages to her own against a titan of the industry like Blanchett.
It’s little decisions like casting real musicians that lend the film a sense of authenticity, it has clearly been painstakingly researched by Field and feels true to the artform with a series of monologues from Lydia and others on the state of the industry and deep dives into the works of some of Classical Music’s most recognisable names. Much of the film was shot in real concert halls and gives it an almost documentarian feel to proceedings.
The film never drags with Blanchett on screen for much of its runtime and the slow build up of dread and degradation of Lydia’s personal and professional life a marvel to witness. There is a haunting quality with a number of noises and background presences that almost give the feeling of a ghost story, Lydia often waking in the middle of the night and finding things out of place and background noises disturbing the peace.
Blanchett, while of course the standout, is not the only member of the cast doing sterling work with Merlant wonderfully capturing Francesca’s eroding loyalty to Lydia, in one of her finest English language roles while Mark Strong makes the most of limited screen time as Eliot Kaplan a potential rival to Lydia. Nina Hoss also excels as Sharon, Lydia’s wife who’s tolerance for Lydia’s behaviour dissipates over the course of the film.
Tár is a fantastic directorial return for Todd Field, well worth the wait and one of the strongest films on the Awards circuit. Blanchett has rightly earned rave reviews for her turn as the complicated titular character but this shouldn’t overshadow the film’s other strong elements with the musical vocabulary totally immersive and a creeping sense of dread and paranoia just out of shot, lulling us into a false sense of comfort. This is further proof of Field’s status and we can only hope there isn’t a 16 year wait until his next film.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Connor
