2023 Reviews – Tár

I’m grumpy because Cate Blanchett won the Golden Globe for her role in Tár a couple of weeks ago, but us in Oz weren’t able to know what the performance was like due to our stupid release schedule – we celebrated her success in the dark. Tár obviously came out in the States last year, to be able to qualify for awards season, and it bugs me that Australia saves the best movies for the lead into the Oscars, through January to March. It means I can have no part in conversations with fellow reviewers across the seas when it comes sharing our top movies for the calendar year, or picks for award season, because most of the top movies haven’t even come out here yet. I also then choose to ignore the true early year releases, like Megan and Knock at the Cabin for 2023, to play catch-up on award prospects, which means I then must catch up on the early releases later in the year too. This is the same problem I face every year, but this is the first year it’s got under my skin, and it seems I have two choices – I’m going to have to move to the United States, or suck it up, princess! I don’t know if I’d be even completely satiated if the glut of good movies dropped in Australia at the end of the year, because it’s leading into an Australian summer where overseas it’s winter, and I imagine it’s cozier sitting inside the cinema, letting your brain fizz with the best movies while escaping the cold outside. But at least I’d have the option to finish my year accurately, like everyone else, and I wouldn’t have to label my early reviews each year with the wrong release date – a fact I’ve had to come to terms with by stating how it reflects Australia’s release schedule, although it sucks. I’ve also heard other international reviewers bemoan how the best movies seem to be hoarded and homed like cattle, coming out in quick-fire succession at the end of the year, instead of sprinkled throughout, and thereby, making every movie an opportunity to be something special. It’s only when something becomes a surprise hit from the rest of the year, like Get Out or Top Gun: Maverick, that it sneaks into Oscar contention. But Tár has eventually gotten wide release in Australia as of January 26th, so can I see the movie now, please? I can? Ta.

Celebrated EGOT recipient and renowned composer-conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is interviewed on a prestigious stage, allowing the host to rattle off her varied CV and colour us impressed. We are made aware that Lydia is planning on performing Maher’s Fifth Symphony, which has either never been done along with her other works, or is a privileged opportunity, reserved for the most dedicated composes. This leads us to follow Lydia along to her practice sessions and student lessons, where she divulges her rich philosophies on music composition and interpretation. Written and directed by Todd Field, I initially took Tár to be a biopic, until the movie’s path made me realise that this must be a fictional character piece on a successful figure, stumbling greatly through her sins in the face of power and excellence.

Now I know how Homer felt while watching that Twin Peaks parody on The Simpsons, because ‘I have no idea what’s going on’. Yeah, I don’t know much about music, and this movie flaunts music terminology like its common knowledge. It sure sounds impressive, and I can at least respect that these characters know what they’re on about. If you are a classical music buff, then I bet you love this movie. But I can see why Cate Blanchett has been up there as this season’s most prominent award prospect – the role of Lydia Tár comes with large chunks of specified dialogue that have to seem off the cuff, and the entire movie is focused on her reactions and decisions; I cannot recall a single scene she’s not in. Although I still might lean towards Michelle Williams’ performance in The Fabelmans as my spiritual favourite so far, there’s so much more of Blanchett, making them hard to split. Luckily, if you’re a Slice Awards fan like me, then you don’t have to worry about separating art into champions, and both performers can be celebrated for their own contributions to the field 😁 Slice Awards, coming soon – a bit of shameless self-plugging there 🤣

This movie had me gripped from perhaps the third scene, where the folly of identity politics gets absolutely obliterated – Tár teaches a class where a student cannot separate the personality of an artist from his founding contribution to the practice, and Lydia energetically explains why sometimes, that’s important. I’ve had the thought a couple times, about how there’s conversation around the importance for minorities to be seen and recognised on the big screen, and well, maybe alternative political points of view like this need to represented as well, and not just for those who believe in another way, but to put identity politics under the microscope to search for cracks, which may even strengthen the good nature within identity integrity in the long run. For this reason, I hope this scene gets shared around, as a fantastically fabricated scenario, where this guy with more energy in his leg than his mind, gets potted for not absorbing what he’s heard into original thought, before becoming abusive. I’ve also often thought that I’d love to see a biopic on the life and times of Judge Judy Sheindlin, who is strangely an idol of mine, but since she has stated that she doesn’t consider herself a feminist, because she sees herself as a judge and not a female judge, it makes me think that she may be in contradiction with the main messaging coming out of Hollywood right now, and even as an admirable female trailblazer, I can kiss my dreams goodbye. But, due to moments in Triangle of Sadness and a great scene here, I’m thinking maybe the pendulum is starting to swing back to a balanced center, where movies can dare to explore all ideas and wonder again, instead of having the same set of irritating answers. Maybe this is not entirely fair on all movies as a whole, but even I am getting sick of continually seeing shortsighted rhetoric dominating entertainment.

But wait, let’s not celebrate too early, because it dawned on me that this movie might be showing a competent woman excel with the ‘wrong’ attitudes, so she can be torn down and get her comeuppance later, and that’s pretty much exactly what happens. It begins with Lydia starting to veer in ways that are disagreeable, leaning on her reputation and self-importance, and going against her own rules by favoring the sexy celloist in the go-go boots, due to her looks and beyond her musical ability. The movie could’ve played this as a lustful misstep or fatigue, until no; there’s no escaping that Lydia is a toxic boss, gaslighting and fibbing to her underlings as well, and they all know it. Shame. The only bone I’ve got to pick with this, is that it isn’t anything fresh – in fact, there were at least four movies that went down this road just last year, including The Menu, Spiderhead, Don’t Worry Darling and She Said (and there were a few others that shared similar traits, but it would be a thin argument to suggest they were exactly the same). Of course, it’s great for stories to expose these horrible societal scourges, but it’s getting to the point that, if you are a movie, and you have a choice between being about a callously stunting situation, or a hopeful idealistic depiction of our systems, then I really wish you’d start sloping towards the latter again. I want to be optimistic again! I’m curious as to whether a movie like this helps to break down modern stereotypes or makes them narrower – since Lydia assumes masculine traits, calling herself her daughter’s father as the most obvious example, will lesbians now be on the list of white and toxic peoples along with men, and the field of good guys will shrink again? Or since this movie depicts a female boss acting horribly, will it dispel the perceived gender-bias on manipulations and abuses of power? I wonder.

But despite my perceptions that this is a pretty common narrative these days, this is the best of it. Yes, if you’ve stuck around this long, this is where the compliments kick in 👍 For a movie with a 2.5-hour runtime, setting in a subject matter that’s out of my class, the time just flew by, due to Tár’s masterful construction. It’s a combination of a captivating lead, maturely crafted scenes, with originally competent dialogue structure, and a general curiosity of where this story goes, that really does the trick! I hated to see it, but I acknowledge the movie’s use of the word ‘robot’, which seems an apt label for the fledging student at the beginning, but then its Tár who uses the word robotically herself, and for anyone she deems inferior – it becomes thoughtless. I’m confused as to whether assistant Francesca (Noémie Merlant) and new celloist Olga (Sophie Kauer) are in cahoots, and if Olga was a plant to expose Lydia in her impropriety, or if it’s just a coincidence that she has come along just as Lydia’s deceits were about to be exhumed. The reason I question this is because of the text messages between Francesca and another person that pop up twice at the start, and again at the book launch when Olga is the only character we know there. Olga also disappears into that dilapidated building, and it’s never revealed where she went. This is a movie that leaves a few things in the viewers hands to figure out and I like that, only giving us a feel for the situation, impending conversations, and their outcomes, along the way – like how we are never told that Tár will be stood down from conducting the orchestra, but we pretty much know how these things go when a boardroom stops murmuring and turns to stare at you. I like how the movie goes a step further, running the knife into Lydia’s downfall, when her neighbours want her to be quiet so they can sell their apartment, showing that Lydia’s talent isn’t even obvious or recognisable outside her bubble, and she’s taken that for granted. I think the movie might also be making a point of Lydia’s disconnect with people, through her uses to Purell, and her sentiments on identity politics, and her use of her neighbour’s health-emergency button for some whimsical songwriting inspiration, although she doesn’t know where the noise is coming from at the time. And there’s someone in the house! It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, and it confirms to us what Lydia has been worried about with her mysterious package and tarnished metronome – it’s got to be the two-faced assistant with her own set of keys, but the reveal comes and goes as quickly as the ghost in Personal Shopper.

The most important thing about Tár is it’s worth the wait. I’ve unleashed a few gripes in this review of mine today, but the movies themselves included in this year’s award season so far haven’t been a letdown. I’ve now seen eight of the ten nominations for Best Picture, and there are five or six that would be worthy winners in representing the industry. When 2023’s genuine new releases do start to make themselves known to me over the next ten months, they’re going to have their work cut out for them to be recognised among my very best viewing experiences of the year because this start has been excellent – perhaps the most consistent since my reviewing days began. Now I’m off to get a hot chocolate and a hug, and maybe I won’t be so grumpy when I write again. Tár – terrific.

4.5