![]() When she retreats into herself, time slows. "However, unlike a clock, sometimes my second-hand stops, which means time stops." The same could be said of Blanchett's role: Her every move modulates the rhythm of the film. In Tár's New Yorker talk, she delves into how the conductor dictates the time of a piece. This deal on a piano and guitar course bundle will be music to your ears.Cate Blanchett defends straight actors playing LGBTQ roles.20 movies we can't wait to see this fall.10 movies you'll want to see out of NYFF 2022.How do you reconcile the two? As with the case of composers such as Bach, is it possible to separate the art from the artist? Or must we serve the artist at risk of our own values and identities? Tár thrives on these questions, its steely color palette of cool blues and neutral tones visually evoking the moral gray area in which Tár sees herself acting. The scene wrings uncomfortable laughs and winces from the viewer and sets up the dichotomy of Tár: She is at once a brilliant artist and a menacing authority figure. Field tracks Blanchett's every move as she prowls around the large, mostly empty classroom, turning a seminar into a pulse-pounding confrontation between two people with a wildly skewed power dynamic. Tár's approach to speaking with Max begins in a somewhat friendly fashion, yet quickly veers toward condescension. Should she, a self-described "U-Haul lesbian," stop engaging with material by those who would question her identity? No, she argues: "If you want to dance the mask, you must service the composer." Sublimation of the identity is key. Tár hounds Max on questions of identity and art. Shot in what appears to be one long take, the sequence examines Tár as she faces off with Max (Zethphan Smith-Gneist), a pangender and BIPOC student who feels uncomfortable conducting the music of old, white composers like Bach. Take a scene in which Tár teaches a conducting class at Juilliard. ![]() Scenes oscillate between the humorous and the horrifying, but as viewers, you never lose your sense of awe at the level of craft on display. Like its protagonist, Tár is many things all at once: a psychological drama, a foray into horror, a (very) dry comedy, and a relationship drama. With moments like these, Field moves this psychological drama into the realm of horror, with a scene involving disembodied screams helping with the genre-melding. In what feels like a musical spin on Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, Tár hears a metronome ticking away in her office, with no one having set it off. Abstract dreams plague Tár, as do strange occurrences at her home in Berlin. ![]() As the picture becomes clearer, Field moves further into the realm of the surreal. Our clues to her wrongdoings start small, yet ominous: a shot of a redheaded young woman surveying Tár while she's in New York, then hints of frightening e-mails. The consequences of these actions, as well as some chilling accusations, threaten to derail everything Tár has worked for.Ĭate Blanchett in "Tár" Credit: Focus Featuresįield and Blanchett dissect Tár bit by bit as these accusations come to light. She dismisses coworkers she disagrees with, chooses soloists based on her own whims, and selects the concept and pose for her upcoming album cover - even though doing any of this means upsetting those she has worked with for years. Throughout, Tár appears to be in total control of her process. She's also about to embark on the most important recording of her life: a live performance of Mahler's Symphony No. She is the conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic, has earned EGOT status, and is releasing a book titled Tár on Tár. As a conductor, Tár has achieved an exceptional level of fame and acclaim. Image is key to Tár, both the movie and the character. Just before this, we watch as a high-end tailor painstakingly crafts a suit for Tár. Yet there's a sense of deliberation, of practice. Her responses are measured, casual, and seemingly spontaneous. In one of the film's first scenes, she discusses her myriad accomplishments with the New Yorker's Adam Gopnik, touching on her mentor Leonard Bernstein, the works of Gustav Mahler, and the temporality of conducting. Tár presides over it all with an air of crafted ease. That's because Tár is, simply put, a masterwork on all fronts.įield's direction guides us superbly into the world of lauded conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), in which accomplished musicians, wealthy music lovers, and doting admirers clamor for her attention. ![]() That's a long time between realized projects, but if we have to wait another 16 years for a film at Tár's level, I'm more than happy to settle in for the long haul. Tár is director Todd Field's third feature-length film - his first in 16 years.
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