As I grow older, I realize I have a need for afternoon naps.
Sadly, I would find this out during my times at the theater, making me miss out on key parts of certain films that are, for the most part, great movies (some examples include Mad Max: Fury Road, The Boy and the Heron, and, recently, Ballerina). So naturally, when I went to see Todd Fields’ TÁR, I was worried I would clock out for twenty minutes or so. That did not happen at all.
The film centers on Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a world renown EGOT winning composer who was given more talent and drive as a person than any form of empathy or kindness (shout out to whoever originally thought she may be a relative of sorts to Terrence Fletcher from Whiplash). The story revolves around her rise in the music community with her eventual fall.
I revisited this movie a little over a month ago for the first time since it’s release, and I still feel as though I am scratching the surface: the film contains a manifold of meanings. Director Todd Fields gives a look into a subject rather prevalent to our society the last few years (cancel culture) with a character you can still feel for despite how horrendous her actions are (remember the scene where she stands up to her daughter’s bully? You will never feel worse for a bully in a film.)
I’m not sure when it occurred to me, but I am rather confident in saying that Cate Blancett is probably my favorite living actress. While I have not seen all of her films, I have still yet to see her give a bad performance (thankfully, I missed out on Borderlands). I can’t think of any actress who can portray “steely resolve” better than she can. She even manages to have fun with roles ranging from Indiana Jones to the MCU. She never phones anything in. You truly can’t start talking about the best of all time without bringing her up.
I’m not entirely sure why the character is named TÁR (it is an anagram for “Art” as well as “Rat” spelled background), but I do have my own theory. Weeks ago, I was driving to work and sadly got a lot of tar sprayed on my car. Removing Tar from the surface of the car is not easy, just like watching TÁR is not easy to forget.
(As of this writing, TÁR is available on VOD).
Nothing else to say 