TÁR

Tár is a film of rare and wild excellence.

Tár, the film that wraps around its mesmerizing antiheroine like a fawn-colored cashmere wrap, is less a movie than a seductive deep dive into an unraveling psyche of a woman who’s simultaneously defined by and apart from the world she has so confidently by the tail.

Because each moment serves at least two purposes — "Tár" is both a superb character study and a highly persuasive piece of world building — you may well find yourself marveling at Field’s economy.

The remarkable details in how information is revealed entirely through a central performance is the reason TÁR excites. Not what it has to say, but how it tells us the story through a dual execution of performance and writing preparation.

Powered by Blanchett’s baton-wielding tour de force, the film is a modern tale about a cultural giant who uses her power in not-so-great fashion, so there’s shades of #MeToo at play. However, Tár has more of a timeless quality, playing out in the style of a Greek tragedy with the epic downfall of a woman behaving badly.

We know where Tár is headed from pretty much its opening scenes, but that doesn’t mean that the film shouldn’t still surprise and shock us. Luckily, this is where Blanchett comes in, turning the movie from a moderately interesting and topical one into something quite beautiful. She brings the energy and the sensation that much of the rest of the film lacks.

Like its subject, the film is severe, dry and painfully serious, but in the closing seconds Mr. Field does, at last, deliver some relief with a visual joke that deals in a kind of cosmic comeuppance. It’s by far the best part of the movie, but it arrives too late to make much of a difference. Up to that point, “Tár” is like listening to a slow, ominous roll on the timpani for two and a half hours.

Confusing, disturbing, and peculiar. Anticlimactic and climactic at the same time. You have to let it sit for a while for things to come together. It's a lot to process, but at the same time, it's a genius movie. I've also never experienced such a high level of stress while watching a film before, but god it is worth it. Lydia Tar is a very complex character, and Cate Blanchett plays her so well that she feels real, it is extraordinary.

I simply love Cate Blanchett in lesbian roles, so there's that... secondly Marin Alsop has no right to be offended. Lesbians dominate almost all media and never in a bad light, for once in my life, can there be a non-perfect lesbian character. Additionally, I think it's mostly a boring and uninteresting film, but visually beautiful with good wardrobe... what makes me admire this film as the third act - how it becomes a cancel culture "thriller". It has a lame "first ever successful woman composer" trope. I am a classically trained pianist, get over yourselves. Make something good and you can remove the "first-ever" from everything.

Frankly, I expected a lot from Tar, but I watched a much slower-paced, weak storyline and low-acting movie than I thought. I thought that Cate Blanchett would exceed the bar she set in Blue Jasmine, but unfortunately, it does not deserve all the fuss. Sorry Lydia.

Maybe not a fair comparison but compared to Whiplash this movie is a snorefest. Way too wieldy tiresome conversations , facts summed up and not enough clever play with actual music. Black Swan is the really entertaining masterpiece , Whiplash was the perfect musical world character study. This is just modern avant garde sorta woke pseudo intellectual trash if you ask me .

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]