TÁR
★★★★
How many people are you willing to destroy to build yourself up? The world loves to live by the mantra, "Survival of the fittest." We often think of the financial world or Hollywood as a cutthroat business, but it exists in every industry. Even as something as beautiful as the world of classical music is not immune to travesty. People are quick to laud praise on one individual for an achievement, but it's easy to forget all the sacrifices that are made from others that helped pave the way for that person.
I won't lie, I skimmed through the opening that begins with the credits that we often to see at the end of a movie. Just like Cate Blanchett's intense character, I overlooked all the people that made this movie possible. Blanchett is amazing and powerful in this role and director Todd Field uses her to showcase that it takes a lot of people (often with a lot of egos) to pull of a great work of art, just one person. Like Lydia Tár, I was looking at a single tree, not the whole forest.
There’s not a lot to like about the character Tár, but Field forces us to contemplate what we value most about art. The work itself or the person behind it? As someone who considers themselves as a patron of the arts, it’s hard to grapple with a creative that you admire when a scandal comes to life. We are all human, which means we are naturally born with faults. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Does Tár deserve her ultimate judgement? Or is she not punished enough? Field challenges our sense of judgement.
TÁR has been nominated for six Academy Awards, but it's ironic that one singular performance is getting all the attention. Blanchett is powerful as always, but it’s the intense and dark themes that will stick with you. TÁR serves as a stark warning to those with great power and talent. It’s not until the movie is over that you realize how much paranoia drives the narrative, much like our inherent nature to dominate, even over those closest to us.
