TÁR

As directors Martin Scorsese, Pedro Almodóvar, Alfonso Cuarón and Paul Thomas Anderson had raved, Todd Field’s “TÁR” was a masterpiece. It was a phenomenal masterclass in filmmaking and storytelling. A tense and tight psychological thriller, despite its 2.5 hours run time, that was not only fiercely intelligent with a dark wit and scathing social commentary, it was also sumptuously stunning to look at (thanks to the gorgeous lighting and lensing of Florian Hoffmeister) and to listen to (the sound team and score by Hildur Guðnadóttir were excellent!). 

But the most important key to the absolute brilliance of “TÁR” was the utterly compelling and incredible performance by Cate Blanchett. She was riveting and formidable, and absolutely had our attention from the start as we followed her through Lydia Tár’s fall from grace. Blanchett is an actress in total control of her craft. She fully inhabited the character. There was no need for makeup or prosthetics, Blanchett just disappeared into the role and what we had on screen was simply Lydia Tár - EGOT winner, author, conductor, mother, partner, predator. Blanchett’s face, eyes and her whole body were used to full effect as we watched from her point of view the events that unfolded. She elicited out of us, a myriad of emotions, from awe and inspiration, to confusion; from anger and disgust, to shame and - dare I say - pity. Simply put, this was acting at its pinnacle. How she, or any other actor, can top such a towering performance ever will be fascinating to watch! 

However, Field too deserved the accolades for writing and directing this tour de force. Superficially, this was a film about cancel culture. It was about how power seduces and corrupts. It was about power dynamics. But those were just scratching the surface. Field had smartly not firmly established his own opinions and deliberately left many things open ended and to allow the audience themselves to contemplate  and complete the story. Implications (and accusations) were made, but nothing was shown on screen. And as we were made to follow Blanchett’s Tár point of view, we can never really be sure whether she was truly a sexual predator or just a selfish manipulator. This grey area and that delirious, frantic third act (and epilogue) really thrusted this film into an echelon high above most films. 

Other than Hoffmeister’s gorgeous cinematography, Guðnadóttir’s brilliant score that mixed in Mahler’s Fifth and Elgar’s cello concerto, the other stunning craft work was Monika Willi’s editing. The tight editing not only helped to tell Field’s story maintaining its tautness and tension but also gave power to Blanchett’s performance as she wrestled with whatever demons that may be plaguing her. 

Also quick shout out to the Hair & Makeup, and Costume Design team! Also to Nina Hoss and her arched eyebrows as Tár silent but strong partner and Noémie Merlant as her assistant who may or may not be as she seemed. 

“TÁR” has now jumped to be the frontrunner of my Oscar pool. If it was up to be, it should be awarded for at least 4 of its 6 nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. I would definitely watch it again to catch even more details of this phenomenal masterpiece.