No one does it quite like Cate Blanchett; whether it’s Indiana Jones or Don’t Look Up, the actress’s limitless range allows her to slot into just about any role she fancies. If anything is for certain, it’s that Blanchett’s artistic approach, whatever it is, won’t be firing back on her any time soon.
So perhaps the role of Lydia Tár, the fictional orchestra conductor and the subject of Todd Field’s deftly crafted Tár, was all the more enticing. Whether it’s as enticing as the taste of Blanchett’s hypnotic performance we were given in the latest trailer, however, is another debate entirely.
Tár follows the plight of the fictional Lydia Tár, the greatest living composer/conductor living today, and also the first woman to ever hold the chief conductor role of a major German orchestra. Described by some critics as a “promethean” character, Lydia soon finds herself on the precipice of self-destruction as her work and surrounding politics threaten to consume her.
According to writer and director Todd Field, the film would have never come to fruition if Blanchett had declined, as Field specifically wrote the film for no one else but the actress. Indeed, this looks to be Blanchett’s very own Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent scenario, and if the film’s punchy trailer and six-minute standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival is anything to go by, she shot this psychological drama straight to the stars.
Tár will have a limited theatrical release on October 7 later this year before a wider expansion on October 28.