Listen, we need to talk about this film. I need to talk about this film.
I loved “TÁR”, I can’t stop thinking about it and I cannot wait to see it again.
Yes, all two and a half hours of it.
First of all, let me readjust some expectations in case you
saw the trailers and you’re under the impression that this is some ambiguous,
psychological thriller with a heavy dose of surrealism.
No! Forget about that.
This is an exquisitely-written drama. There are a couple of thriller-esque scenes,
there are a couple of brief moments of surrealism that are very clearly dreams.
But when it comes to the plot,
this movie is nowhere near as ambiguous as you might think based on the marketing.
Here’s the premise: Lydia Tár is a world-renowned conductor and composer at the top of her game,
and there seems to be no limit to what she’s able to achieve.
She’s smart, talented, passionate about music, and she is ready to take her career to new heights.
But of course, this is when the trouble begins
and some of Lydia’s questionable actions start catching up to her.
In a way, “TÁR” is a portrait of a heroine unravelling,
except in this case the heroine is very much an anti-heroine.
Taking the entire story into account, it’s easy to see that
Lydia’s character is a role in which you would normally see a male actor,
but it’s clear from the beginning that the film has very little interest in basic gender
politics - Lydia herself dismisses those questions a few times throughout the movie.
What the writer-director Todd Field really wants to examine is power in its various forms:
the hierarchy of power, the way gaining or losing power affects the ego, power as control,
power when it comes to relationships - all aspects of it, and it is fascinating!
It’s no coincidence that “TÁR” uses the world of classical music as its framework - it’s a
world rooted in tradition, one that doesn’t exist without composers and techniques that
are centuries old, a world that can often feel like it’s frozen in time,
operating by the rules of a different century.
And an orchestra in particular has a very specific hierarchy,
which serves as the perfect setup for all of the discussions the film aims to ignite.
At one point, Lydia herself tells her daughter that the orchestra is not a democracy.
Through its lead character (and yes, despite how real she feels, Lydia Tár is a fictional
character), the movie challenges its viewers to engage in nuanced conversations about very
charged, relevant topics such as identity politics, power dynamics, cancel culture,
separating the art from the artist, and the idea of achieving greatness in the modern world.
But here’s the beautiful thing about all of this: Todd Field has no interest in easy answers.
The film doesn’t pass judgement on its lead character or anyone she interacts with.
It doesn’t take a stance, it doesn’t preach, moralize, or lecture its audience.
It’s not anti-this or pro-that as far as those
charged topics go - the only thing it’s “pro” is pro-conversation.
“TÁR” is a movie that trusts the intelligence of its viewers, that demands attention to
detail and wants to start a discussion rather than tell you what to think or how to feel,
which is something that has become increasingly rare in modern cinema.
Listen, I’m not going to lie: the film is speaking my language.
I was a classical music major myself, and between that and my love for character studies,
complex characters, and movies that generally don’t beat you over
the head with their point of view - “TÁR” pretty much feels like it was made for me.
But it’s also objectively a brilliant and engrossing
film that often feels like a Greek tragedy.
The stunning writing (which by the way is not without some well-placed,
dry humor) and direction of Todd Field, the excellent cast, the precise cinematography
and editing, the eerie score, the production design - all of these elements come together
to make “TÁR” one of the best and most thought-provoking films of the year.
And then there is, of course, our Queen Cate Blanchett who absolutely delivers a
career-best performance, with an astonishing level of character depth and control.
As Lydia, she is someone who is constantly aware of the effect she has, aware of her every move,
every word because all of this has intent behind it.
Lydia is someone who did not come from an elite
musical background - she had to dream big and work her way up,
and because of this she always knows where she’s headed and what she needs to do to get there…
Until things start spinning out of her control.
Blanchett is simply magnificent,
her talent is undeniable, so give this woman her third Oscar, please.
In some ways, Lydia simultaneously reminded me of Andrew and Terence Fletcher from “Whiplash”,
which happens to be one of my favorite films.
We see the cost of ambition in Tár just like we see it in Andrew.
Lydia is a character driven by that ambition,
someone who discovered the meaning in life through music.
But while “Whiplash” explores the price of greatness from the perspective of someone
aspiring to be great, “TÁR” examines what greatness does to someone who has achieved it.
Lydia is closest to Fletcher when she is teaching a masterclass at Juilliard and
engages in an argument with a student who expresses a controversial point of view.
What's interesting is that she preaches letting go of the ego in service of the music,
but ultimately lets her ego get the best of her.
Most of what you need to know about Lydia and the way she
perceives herself is actually revealed in the opening interview we see in the film,
as she talks about her ability to stop and start time while leading an orchestra.
So perhaps, I was wrong to call her queen. Goddess is more like it.
"You cannot start without me. See, I start the clock.
Sometimes, my second hand stops... Which means the time stops."
I’ve seen “TÁR” referred to as the “cancel culture movie”, and while,
yes, "cancel culture" is part of it, it’s also just one element of this layered film,
and describing it as such is a major oversimplification of its intent.
What is the intent? To look at things with
complexity and to remember our ability to, at least, attempt to see different points of view.
The ambiguity the trailers have tried to get across doesn’t come from the plot itself - it
comes from your interpretation of what you see unfold on screen.
How do you view these characters? How do you feel about the ending?
What is your relationship with power and ambition?
How do you judge people you’ve never met?
How do you reconcile greatness and fallibility?
“TÁR” asks many questions, and none of them are simple “yes or no”, “black or white” issues.
It’s a film defined by its complexity, whether it comes to characters, relationships, or ethics.
A film that looks at power dynamics through the lens of the accelerating
and ever-changing modern world, and sometimes quite literally through the lens of a phone.
I really hope this film finds its audience and people actually go see
it because at the end of the day “TÁR” is a lot more accessible, relevant,
and engaging than it initially seems, without being preachy.
Todd Field challenges his viewers to figure out where they stand themselves
and consider that different points of view don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
With “TÁR” the question isn’t just examining power itself,
but also examining the way we look at it and where that perspective comes from.
In the end, what Todd Field achieves here is masterful!
His characters feel so layered and real that you
may actually end up googling if they really are fictional.
His visual and storytelling choices are exceptional.
His passion and talent are obvious,
and the discussion “TÁR” is able to generate is fascinating.
How many movies, especially recently, have tried to tackle questions of power dynamics?
Of structure and politics of power?
Of “cancel culture” and separating the art from the artist? So many.
But very few of them are able to approach these discussions with the amount of
intelligence and nuance they require, and “TÁR” is at the top of that list.