REVIEW Tár – the Cate Blanchett movie you watch for the actress, not the script

Tár – here’s a film that, again, might not seem like it’s for the general public, and I’ll explain why in a moment.

Before that, it should be mentioned that Tár was nominated for this year’s Academy Awards in the following categories: best picture (where it’s up against All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick”, “Triangle of Sadness”, and “Women Talking”), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Cate Blachett), Best Director (Todd Field), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

All in all, it has a real chance of going home with at least one statuette at this gala, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will. In any case, the mere multiple nomination is a success in itself, given the niche of this film.

Why would you watch Tár

There are a few reasons why you would want to watch Tár. Firstly, if you’re passionate about classical music and like the elististo-glamorous stories of people working in this ‘industry’, the film is for you.

Second, to catch up on all that’s going on with the films competing for this year’s Oscars.

Last but not least, Tár becomes synonymous with Cate Blachett, the actress you can’t help but like unless she happens to physically resemble someone unpleasant in your life and you choose, accordingly, to be biased towards your traumatic memories and punish Cate for it.

Tár tells the story of a famous conductor who gets carried away by the “current” of fame and begins to abuse her name. There’s no way you can decide whether Lydia Tár (Blanchett) is a positive or a negative character, and I think that’s ultimately part of the charm of the film itself.

You should arm yourself with a bit of patience when watching this production, since you’ll encounter plenty of sufficiently mushy scenes here that, in all honesty, can give you a headache at times.

In the end, you’ll thank yourself, though, that you didn’t give up halfway through.