Don't Be So Eager to Be Offended. 4 / 5
Directed by Todd Field.
Renowned musician Lydia Tár is days away from recording the symphony that will elevate her career. However, Lydia's elaborate facade begins to unravel, revealing dirty secrets and the corrosive nature of power.
For many months I had been hearing rumours about the legend of Lydia Tár and Cate Blanchett's powerful central performance but Tár was much more subtle than I was expecting.
Opening strong, calm and collected, writer/director Todd Field fuelled by Blanchett treats us to many long, often one take, sequences as Lydia proves with ease why she is a master of her craft. But the more we see Lydia in more private and intimate moments, we see the mask begin to slip as her egotistic intentions rise to the surface.
As Lydia begins to lose control of the situation she finds herself in, the scenes become more unhinged and faster paced but this change happens so subtly that both Lydia nor the audience doesn't even realise it's happening until it arrives at a point of no return. All of this leads to a final scene and shot that broke my brain and is a deliciously inevitable way to end such a furious story.
I left Tár a bit shell shocked - unsure of what I had just witnessed. But after letting it sit, it’s a film I'm eager to revisit and study as it juggles so many sensitive topics with grace while never sacrificing sharp writing, confident direction and brilliant performances from the entire cast.
"You must stand in front of the public and God and obliterate yourself."
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