I watched Tár over the course of a few hours, frequently pausing the film and watching something else, then coming back to it. Or taking a nap. I don't think calling this movie boring is that controversial; the first 40 minutes of the film are deliberately difficult, an excruciatingly long interview opens the film and it's follow quickly by a dinner conversation that goes on for way too long.
To say Tár did not need to be 2 hrs and 37 minutes long would be beating a dead horse. Of course it didn't need to be. It is beause it reflects the sort of pretentious, grandiose person Lydia Tár is. Tár, at its core, is a character study and a parable about modern times; a film about cancel culture and the accountability of cultural icons.
Cate Blanchett truly disappears into this role and delivers a powerhouse performance here. It's hard not to sound like a broken record, but she really becomes Lydia. There's an amazing physicality to her performance along with her incredible affectations and ability to portray Tár consistently, even whilst speaking different languages.
I also found the film's sometimes meandering pace to be compelling as it gave us a chance to get to know people without necessarily figuring out where they all fit in Tár's life. It really made the film feel like a slice of life, where the story has a lot of context before the movie begins, and will go on after (naturally, given the ending).
It's also a very well made film; the cinematography and sound design, thankfully, are impeccable. You really get sucked into whatever room you're in and there's an overbearing sense of atmosphere, a coldness associated with the refined world of classical music.
Yet, this is also a movie I'd probably never watch again. It does a lot quite well, but is too simple a plot to waste so much time. Most of the other um...non, Tár characters, are pretty paper thin and we don't really have any particular subplots or complex relationship dynamics. As the movie lurches towards its end, I felt like it implies a strong emotional connection to what's happening, but it never really made it.
This is a story that could've been told in a very conventional, straightforward way, but it's smarter than that. It takes a pretty nuanced and difficult-to-discuss subject and tackles it head on, but in a way that feels as if it's an aspect of the character's life and not the whole thing. Tár, like many Oscar bait films, has a lot to appreciate. But, I genuinely don't believe it's the sort of film many people will honestly remember and appreciate years down the road.
