TÀR

“Let’s talk about the composer’s intent with this piece”

Tàr is a character study that writer-director Todd Field specifically created for Cate Blanchett. The film is a masterfully crafted satire about institutional power, and exposes the sham that is neo-liberal ideology. I immediately distrusted this character and I relished all the nuances and details that Field and Blanchett used to spin this tale. The camera work is exquisite, the sound design is sublime, and obviously Cate Blanchett is just an incredible titan of an actor. Though I’m sure the slow pacing will turn off some viewers, I really was riveted the entire film!

Blanchett’s character, Lydia Tàr, is hollow. She is a carefully curated brand, designed to please the patriarchy, with no actual belief system. Her analysis of the music she presents is surface level at best — she misrepresents Gustav & Alma Mahler’s relationship in the opening scene, and in the next epic 10 minute continuous take she misunderstands the purpose of John Cage’s 4:33. She white washes the music from other cultures to further her own career, and shows no interest in actually sharing her podium. She talks about conducting like she’s the master of time itself (she literally says that), but she has no compositions of her own, nothing new to offer the world. Her success does nothing for feminism because all she does is perpetuate the existing power structure. She is a taker, a user, an abuser, and a sham.