Tár (2022)

Review

158min

Genre:       Drama, Music

Director:     Todd Field

Cast:         Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss…and more

Writers:     Todd Field

-Synopsis-

Reeling from the pressure of being the first musical director of a prestigious German orchestra, a world-renown classical composer-conductor is plunged into an existential crisis when she struggles to balance the expectations of her profession with a complex personal life and the perfectionist inner demons which fuse them all together, leaving her unprepared for a tsunami of media scandal heading her way.

After transitioning from a career as an experienced young character actor in the 80s and 90s to going behind the camera in the 21^st century, Todd Field returns to his musician roots for his third feature as a daring writer/director, turning to one of the modern greats of the screen to paint his unconventional sonic portrait of a traditional artist in flux and contemporary study of scandal and consequence in the modern public eye.

Cate Blanchett stars as celebrated American EGOT composer, chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and figurehead of the art world ‘Lydia Tár’, juggling the rigours of her varied endeavours helped by her trusted assistant and aspiring composer ‘Francesca’ (Noémie Merlant), struggling to reconcile her image as a sophisticated and celebrated trailblazer in a traditionalist milieux with her private life as a gay woman in a committed relationship, and her role as adoptive co-mother to young ‘Petra’ (Mila Bogojevic) whom she shares with her German partner and concert violinist ‘Sharon’ (Nina Hoss).

But when the pressures of an important impending performance of Gustav Mahler’s 5^th Symphony and the complexities of family life pile on top of a brewing scandal, Tár’s life is abruptly turned upside down when past indiscretions combine with no longer socially acceptable behaviour to bring a wave of public outrage and consequence crashing on her doorstep, threatening all her relationships and a stellar carefully cultivated career.

As far as cinematic portraits of an artist go, ‘Tár’ is somehow simultaneously familiar yet unconventional as Field paints a picture of a contemporary artist in a rather traditional field, and a gay woman in the typically male world of composing and orchestral conducting. But this is as much a portrait of a fallen public figure—albeit from a rare perspective which isn’t a straight white older male—which weaves together a narrative which could be ripped from today’s headlines or social media trends by deconstructing a victim of virtuous cancel culture and society’s current outrage obsession, or one might counter argue a casualty of consequences for bad behaviour and new social standards of a changing West . . . with reality perhaps lying somewhere in between.

But make no mistake Field is unafraid to comment on the inability or unwillingness of some loud voices in society to separate art from the artist, touching on the humanistically dishonest and intellectually flawed prism of virtue through which they demand that creators and their work are viewed, while trying to hold the collective keys on their acceptability for consumption and consideration.

Moreover ‘Tár’ is a studied and complex character study set in the world of fine art and music’s elite, with Field framing the importance of time and timing and providing us a rare glimpse of what a classical conductor is and does—the orchestra’s metronome and timekeeping puppet master for whatever interpretation of the piece they are performing.

Drawing from titanic figures of Western classical music, particularly of Jewish origin like Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler for both artistic inspiration and as part of the film’s narrative, Todd Field uses their creative genius and interpretative nous combined with musicality from other milieux to create a sonic tapestry which tries to get to the heart of the artistic struggle and what it really means to make music, all in a modern context yet though a traditional method. But as a character piece and human drama ‘Tár’ will ultimately sink or soar on the back of its performances, and it’s no accident that he saddles the burden on the shoulders of one of the finest actors of her or any generation. Tasking her with helping to draw a nuanced and layered character who is as beguiling and formidable as she is detached and unsympathetic at times—and a troubling figure for the audience to decipher and decide whether to sympathise with.

Unsurprisingly Cate Blanchett is simply superb in the titular turn and so convincing it feels like they hired a real composer-conductor for the role, holding the film together with a restrained intensity befitting an impassive and quite cold intellectual character, whose carefully cultivated personal and professional life quickly falls apart. The Aussie superstar masterfully handles a sudden mental and emotional unravelling as easily as she does the preceding build-up of Tár’s life of influence and high status in the often pompous and self-involved world of high art and fine culture, moodily drawn with the help of strong supporting performances from the likes of Noémie Merlant as her loyal but long-suffering assistant, and Nina Hoss as her devoted but tested partner.

The film’s true strength though is its unwavering focus, as Todd Field and Blanchett conspire to tell the story of ‘Tár’ through one filter, through one lens only—hers. Not only is this true to the nature of great artists and musicians but it’s also more honest, regardless of it being uncomfortable and perhaps confronting, which is of course part of the point of the film. We the audience are placed in her mind and challenged to see everything through her perspective, drawn in by the story and Blanchett’s magnetism without much judgement and with plenty of sympathy for a figure from whom we might otherwise recoil, which makes ‘Tár’ in some ways Field’s personalised musical answer to the Scorsese masterpiece on the dark human condition that was ‘Taxi Driver’.

Although it’s not quite a rise and fall film or origin story as we join it with Lydia Tár’ already at her zenith and only fleetingly delve into her past, ‘Tár’ excels as a riches-to-rags story and difficult character study which beguiles the senses and doesn’t fail to provide food for thought, and despite the build up to performances and presentations this is a rehearsal movie at heart—something we seldom see with this level of devotion and attention to detail when it comes to the craft of music.

The Bottom Line…

A slick and moodily prescient sonic portrait of an accomplished artist on a collision course with cancel culture and consequence, ‘Tár’ proves to be Todd Field’s magnum opus thanks to his devotion to the artistic process and what music means to the ears and hearts that devour it, fuelled by his daring to frame the human failings often associated with figures who make a mark but in a society no longer willing to accept them—all filtered through the humanity and versatility of an actress who has been at the top of her game from the start.

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