The tale of a tortured artist is hardly anything new in Hollywood. But it doesn’t mean it still can’t be interesting, especially when said artist seems to be doing everything possible to sabotage herself and her possible success. With his first film in almost two decades, writer/director Todd Field (“In The Bedroom,” “Little Children”) has teamed up with Cate Blanchett (“Carol,” “Thor Ragnarok”) to tell the story of such an artist with “Tár.”
Starring Blanchett as composer Lydia Tár, the film follows her preparation of Mahler's 5th Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic as its first female composer and the first composer to perform all of Mahler’s symphonies with the same orchestra. Assisting her is her personal assistant Francesca, played by Noémie Merlant (“Heaven Will Wait,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), and her sickly wife Sharon, played by Nina Hoss (“Homeland,” “A Most Wanted Man”). Things become complicated after Olga, a young Russian cellist played by Sophie Kauer, joins the symphony and previous events in Lydia’s life begin to surface.
“Tár” is hardly the type of film one could call tight or constrained. Taking place across two different continents, across two-hours-and thirty-eight minutes, and with plenty of that time spent simply talking, it’s clear that this is a film that isn’t going to adjust itself for audiences. You either get on its wavelength or get off. It’s a remarkably emotionally affecting film, the kind that uses all of its tricks, sometimes all at once, to illicit a response from its audience.
Blanchett is phenomenal, turning Lydia into a fascinating display of hubris and control. She’s a genuinely despicable person, not just in large obvious ways, but in the little split-second decisions she makes. Merlant is also terrific, bringing Francesca to life with an easily identifiable pity to her. It’s easy to empathize with her and want her to simply quit or stand up for herself. The same is true for Hoss as Sharon. Blanchett and she have perfect chemistry, although not in the way you’d think. They easily bicker back and forth, feeling like a real married couple in the ways they pay attention to each other’s little details in work and at home.
Kauer, in her film debut, is fantastic opposite Blanchett. Their scenes together show so many fascinating cracks in Lydia’s façade, and its by far the film at its most interesting; to watch a woman who’s so effortless in her control of others simply lack that control and struggle o comprehend it is a marvelous experience.
So much of “Tár” is just that, a marvelous experience. It’s a film clearly and impeccably crafted by a singular vision, for better or worse. Some scenes feel over-long, and the film overall certainly doesn’t fly by. Even if it makes great use of its runtime, it certainly doesn’t feel any shorter. It also doesn’t help that so many moments feel bizarre simply for the sake of it and don’t feel like they add any additional strength to the film or it’s themes. Yes, a film doesn’t have to entirely “make sense” to be good, but to have these scenes slotted into an otherwise fairly standardly coherent movie feel simply out of place.
Musically, the film is impeccable. It’s not just that the music is great, but its so woven into the film itself given its setting and characters that it just builds everything around it up. The score from Hildur Guðnadóttir (“Chernobyl,” “Joker”) manages to be effectively creepy and also light, like a reprieve from Lydia and her twisted life, managing a fantastic double act. It’s also fantastically shot, with plenty of gorgeous uses of light and darkness throughout from cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister (“Antlers,” “The Terror”).
Given all of its individually fantastic elements, and a fantastic bit of schadenfreude in its ending, it seems like damning the film with faint praise to not completely acclaim it. But, for all it’s fantasticness, “Tár” can’t help but feel like another movie about a tortured artist who ruins their own life. Yes, its fantastic, phenomenally acted and impeccably put together, but it can’t help but feeling like another movie in that subgenre. There isn’t anything here, apart from Blanchett’s commanding performance, that sets it above the others. Even her performance, as good as it is, feels more like another in a line of toxic artist roles, without anything to transcend it above the others.
That might seem harsh, but make no mistake, “Tár” is still a fantastic film. It’s a juicy drama filled with great performances and technical merits, with a mastery over its music and visual styles. It might have a few too many ambiguous scenes for how straight forward the overall film is, and it doesn’t rise above the others in its subgenre the way it thinks it does, but its still absolutely a film worth seeing and an experience worth having. 4/5
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