‘TÁR’ NYFF 2022 Review – Cate Blanchett is Ferocious in Todd Field’s Cold, Exacting Character Study

Who is Lydia Tár? Is she a thrillingly talented conductor? Is she a monster who abuses power? Is she someone worthy of her level of success? These are all questions that layer on top of each other in Todd Field’s cold and exacting character study, TÁR, his first film in over 15 years and a welcome return for one of cinema’s most undersung modern directors.

Meticulously crafted in both its writing and direction, Field presents a tragic fall from grace that is poignant in our era of cancel culture but only on its most basic terms. It’s a comparison that is being heavily flung around, but the film is far elevated above any modern discourse. In fact, despite taking place in modern day, TÁR feels nearly timeless in how it highlights the emotional duality behind any compelling figure of ego falling from their pedestal. 

Set within the podium politics of the classical music scene, Lydia Tár’s (Cate Blanchett) life is one of elegance and authority. She is a renowned icon in classical conducting, a now-published author, and even an EGOT winner. She is married (Nina Hoss) and has a beautiful young daughter (Mila Bogojevic), both of whom reside in an idyllic apartment in the heart of Berlin. She is about to reach a massive career milestone, conducting and recording the last of Mahler’s symphonies, the illustrious 5th, completing a collection she has long strove to achieve. 

At the height of her ability, Tár is deeply intellectual, keenly observant, and bitingly funny. She’s also frustratingly stubborn and emotionally manipulative. She plots to replace one of her leading advisors (Sebastian Goodnow) over petty differences. She takes a liking to Olga (Sophie Kauer), a newly-minted member of the orchestra and a beautiful, younger muse. And, in the back of her mind, a startling development threatens to unearth a deeply buried hatchet. 

All of these precocious elements make up TÁR’s slow burn of a first half, deeply compelling even at its most ordinary and expository. Part of that is thanks to Field’s extensively researched screenplay, brimming with a technical knowledge of classical music’s history and craft in a way that is simultaneously as stimulating as it is insightful. Heightened by excellent set design and music by breakout composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, the film immerses you beautifully into a world of rich musical identity.

However, most of the credit goes to Blanchett, who embodies Tár about as naturally as one would expect from an actress of her caliber. To say this is career-defining work would be a bit of an overstatement, as it feels almost too natural. One can’t help but revel in more concerted efforts like Carol or Blue Jasmine, deep descents that feel better paced and a bit more elaborate. 

However, one cannot deny that Blanchett is breathing profound life into every sentence of Field’s screenplay. From tenderly conversing with her closest colleagues to ferociously ripping them apart with a single blow, the actress is as sharp as the observations Field makes at her character’s expense. Her conducting, in particular, is extraordinary, electrically stylized akin to several real maestros.

However, once we are deep in the throws of the whirlwind second half, Field refuses to let go of his moralistic ambiguity, even when all sides point to a clear conclusion. The writer-director has spoken about intentionally making it so that the audience isn’t provided answers to the film’s many complex questions, except for that most of the pieces are laid for us. 

Moving so rapidly that many of the specifics are left unsaid, the film’s descent begins to feel like ambiguity for its own sake, cutting between moments at such a clip that some of its power deflates. Florrian Hoffmesiter’s objective cinematography, successfully borderline-documentarian in the first half, creates a frustrating detachment in the second half that allows Field to tiptoe around more definitive characterizations. The film’s limited and limp use of surrealism comes to mind.

Thankfully, Field caps things off with a profoundly sardonic finale, cementing TÁR as one of the year’s most fascinating films. Darkly funny but not without a harrowing sadness, Todd Field’s imperfect but impassioned symphony of tragedy is a return nearly as triumphant as Mahler’s 5th itself, sounding its trumpet as it ushers a forgotten auteur back into the spotlight with a certified conversation-starter and a must-see theatrical event.

TÁR was viewed in the Main Slate section of New York Film Festival 2022. The film is scheduled to be released in select cinemas on October 7, everywhere on October 28, 2022 courtesy of Focus Features. 

Director: Todd Field

Writer: Todd Field

Rated: R

Runtime: 157m

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na6gA1RehsU]