[FILM]
TÁR
We’re saying that’s not ‘Agadoo’
★★★★★ OUT 13 JANUARY / CERT TBC 158 MINS
DIRECTOR Todd Field
CAST Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer
PLOT Revered conductor Lydia Tár (Blanchett) has it all: awards, an amazing apartment, a supportive partner, an angelic daughter and her dream gig conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker. She’s about to face the challenge of her glittering career — recording Gustav Mahler’s monumental Fifth symphony — but, as her focus shifts to infatuations old and new, her perfect life begins to crumble.
THERE’S NOTHING in the elevator pitch of TÁR — arenowned classical conductor makes a recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony — that makes it remotely sound like it’s one of the must-see films of the year. But Todd Field’s film, only his third in 20 years following In The Bedroom and Little Children, is essential: a granular character study of a complex, contradictory powerhouse. Grappling with what it means to be an artist in the modern era — notions of professional power dynamics, abuse and cancel culture are all given clear-eyed consideration — has seemingly brought the best out of both Field and star Cate Blanchett, who has unquestionably delivered the performance of a lifetime.