Tár (2022)

A renowned world famous and sought after composer and conductor (Cate Blanchett) is currently the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. But her seemingly perfect life unravels with the suicide of a former student (Sylvia Flote) when rumors and accusations question the propriety of her relationship with the student. Directed by Todd Field (LITTLE CHILDREN), I had some misgivings going into the film. I'm not an admirer of Blanchett's actress-y performances where she overwhelms her characters with her acting with a capital A and it's the acting we become focused on, not the character. However, in this case, that very quality which ruins her work as "normal" people is a perfect match for her egotistical "take no prisoners" conductor. I enjoyed the movie's peek into the politics of the classical performance world. Alas, the movie comes completely unglued in the movie's last 20 minutes or so. It's as if Field realized he had to end the movie immediately so he rushed through to the end giving us patches and bits sewn together from scraps. Its lengthy two hours and 38 minutes seem self indulgent. I'm not sure how we're intended to feel about Blanchett's Tar. It's hard to empathize with the downfall of someone who appears to be an arrogant sexual predator. With Nina Hoss, Julian Glover and Noemie Merlant.