Some loved it, some hated it. I’m actually going to side with the former on this occasion in that Tár is probably one of my favourite ‘First Watches’ of the year so far. Although it’s clear that star Cate Blanchett really wanted to get some weird, cancel culture agenda over with this one, I just can’t in good conscience deny that it’s a really good movie. Whatcha gonna do?
Centring on the story of Lydia Tár, a virtuoso composer, Tár is set in the world of the international classical music scene. It sounds boring, doesn’t it? Honestly, it draws you in more than you’d ever anticipate. Whilst it is mostly a character study (with that cancel culture twist), seeing the fictional Tár in action is truly brilliant, and with her successful career, we get to see the true complexities of her life outside of the world of composing too, which is where the good, nitty gritty drama comes in.
How is Apartment for Sale not nominated for Best Original Song? Pure daylight robbery. Don’t believe me? Check it out yourself:
Although that all probably won’t make much sense out of context, the fact that director Todd Field and Blanchett herself actually wrote it only makes it better. Plus, it gained a well-deserved chuckle from the whole audience at the cinema screening we were in, which was lovely to witness.
But anyway to be real for a second, Tár was so very close to being my film of the year so far. I knew I’d like it, but ever since I saw it at the wonderful HOME in Manchester I’ve thought about it constantly. Why is it not my film of the year? There’s a 20 minute chunk around 100 minutes in that just felt poorly paced and didn’t seem to advance the plot enough. It all sounds so minor, but when the rest of the movie is so brilliant? It just feels all the more disappointing.
Push that to one side and this is a movie that ends up being breathtaking on many fronts. What surprised me more than anything else was how great the sound mixing was. Yes, the sound mixing. Of course, any movie involving a world-renowned conductor is going to have some amazing orchestral sequences, but it wasn’t even the music that stood out above all else, it was the tiny little hums of Tár’s refrigerator and the whoosh sounds as a character ran stage right and all of the minute details. All of that makes it baffling to me that this movie didn’t receive a nomination for Best Sound. Yeah, yeah, Top Gun: Maverick will probably will anyway, but this movie absolutely deserved some recognition. At least the BAFTAs gave the film’s sound department some love I suppose.
Add in the sound mixing with the gorgeously styled costuming and the truly interesting story with what is perhaps Cate Blanchett’s best performance of her career? Good lord. This movie really has expertise pouring out of it. Were it not for Michelle Yeoh, I’d be certain that Blanchett would be taking home her third Academy Award. Though I can’t say I always agree with her on a personal level sometimes, she so clearly dedicated so much love and time to this character study and her performance could not be better. I’d change absolutely nothing about it.
I could go on and on about Tár, I really could. I could talk about the film’s deeply ambiguous nature, the f a s h i o n and the striking, monochromatic cinematography for hours. Were it not for those patchy 20 minutes, this would have been the easiest 5 star review ever from me.
Tár is currently screening in some cinemas across the UK.
TQR Category Ratings:
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Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
The Quayside Review 