In her 30-year career, Cate Blanchett has delivered breathtaking, superlative performances. But even then, her portrayal of the titular character in Tár emerges as one of her finest. Written and directed by Todd Field, this Oscar-nominated film dives into cancel culture, the MeToo movement, and complex psychological territories.
Blanchett is known for playing level-headed women in command of situations but often empty from the inside—Elizabeth (1998), for example. Her portrayal of Lydia Tár, however, is different. A legendary orchestra conductor at the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, relishing the perils of fame and immense success, Tár begins to plummet as the ghosts of her past catch up.
Tár is a Cate Blanchett show
Lydia is known to be a distinguished maestro, one of the very few to have achieved the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) honour. She lives in Berlin with her partner Sharon (Nina Hoss) and their tween daughter Petra (Mila Bogojevic). At one point, when she discovers that Petra is being bullied at school, she confronts the bully — a young girl — in fluent German and describes herself as “Petra’s father”. With her straight face and fierce, cold eyes, Blanchett’s Lydia will send chills down your spine. The downward spiral makes for an engaging watch when the titular character commands this level of respect, admiration, fear, and social prestige.
As Tár progresses while dealing with Lydia’s personality quirks and comeuppance in the forms of her hearing mysterious sounds, it also dives into the age-old art vs artist debate and whether or not it is possible to separate the two.
In an impeccably shot scene, Lydia is taking a conducting class at Juilliard when one of her students expresses his displeasure against Bach, the renowned German composer, and describes his “misogyny” to be repellent. “Don’t be so eager to be offended,” quips Lydia, and says that the “narcissism of small differences leads to the most boring conformity”.
But Lydia does not stop there. She soars into an oration about the need to “sublimate” oneself to music, regardless of identity. For her, service to the art transcends all inherent prejudices.
Lydia’s ferocity — often controversial — is admirable for a woman in power. But Tár explores the impact this has on her young students, many of whom are impressionable young women she has a questionable history with.
Blanchett imbibes the spirit of Lydia with utmost nuance and power. While she is no guest to formidable acting, her performance in Tár compels you to drop everything and just applaud her majestic screen presence.
For a film based on a legendary orchestra conductor, the music does not possess a dominant share in the film. It has been used more so like a reliable partner the film can count on to elevate a mood or scene besides, of course, the captivating orchestral rehearsals Lydia conducts. The cinematography propels this extraordinary piece of writing in dialogue-less scenes. And much like an orchestra, all these technical elements come together as Blanchett weaves a proverbial harmony that will be hummed and remembered for a long time.
Field, who has acted in over 20 films and directed a fair few before Tár, is definitely a better director than an actor. His scandalous, fictional tale of a maestro’s dwindling social stature is worth every accolade coming its way. And if I have not said (enough times) before, Blanchett’s performance will pierce through your heart from the get-go.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)