Tár movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Tár

This dramatic musical movie is now available to stream online.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 2 hours 38 minutes (This is VERY long!)

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie is set in the international world of Western classical music. It features Lydia Tar, widely considered to be one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the first-ever female music director of a major German orchestra.

The movie was directed by Todd Field who wrote the film just for Cate Blanchett. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a fascinating telling.

THINGS I LIKED:

OF COURSE, Cate Blanchett is in this movie because it will surely get some Oscar buzz. She is one of my all-time favorite actresses and offers a fascinating chameleon of characters. As expected, her performance is flawless and a masterclass in acting. She’s why you should watch this movie. Surely, she will be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in this movie. She learned how to conduct an orchestra and actually did conduct the Dresden Orchestra in the scenes that featured those musicians.
The real Lydia Tar is an EGOT, the rare individual who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.
The film is a study of the unraveling of a professional woman and the power of the media to destroy a career.
Sophie Kauer is a professional cellist with zero acting experience. A friend encouraged her to audition for the movie, so she began watching YouTube videos about acting tips by Michael Caine!
I’m always a fan of Mark Strong. He’s not in the movie very often though.
I love one-take film shots. We see that in the scene where Lydia teaches students at Juilliard. Brilliant.
Fun fact: The screams Lydia hears when jogging in the woods are audio of Heather Donahue from the climax of The Blair Witch Project.
The ending was a perfect gut punch.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Not all audiences will enjoy this. It is definitely high-brow. For example, Act 1 is filled with background information, musical details, and references to leaders in the industry throughout the ages that might cause some viewers to give up. Some will just dismiss this film as pretentious art.
Surprisingly, we don’t get to listen to as much classical music as we thought we would in a movie about a conductor.
We have to read texts on a cell phone.
The first 10 minutes are rolling credits with disquieting notes.
Some strange things occur without explanation or resolution, such as the woman screaming in the forest or the growling in the apartment complex.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be completely bored. So will some adults.
Lydia Tar is a married lesbian. We see her kiss her wife.
Profanity, including F-bombs.
We see full-frontal nudity of an old woman, and a side profile of a nude woman in the shadow.
A woman gets attacked, although we don’t see it.