★★★★

Todd Field (Little Children) is back with Tár, which stars Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár, a genius female conductor who becomes her own worst enemy. As a child, she is a piano prodigy and grows into a lauded Julliard teacher and conductor at the top of her field. A lesbian, she has an adopted daughter from Syria, and she and her partner live in Berlin. She makes the trite “U-Haul lesbian” joke, implying that they met and moved in together the next day. The 158-minute movie devotes itself to educating the audience on the ins and outs of musicianship, the classical music scene, and what it takes to be a female conductor.

Tár is nothing without its music, and Todd Field and the team at Focus Features have spared no expense in putting together a top-notch group of world-class players. In a film about a female conductor, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (Chernobyl) should be praised. The London Symphony Orchestra performs the score conducted by Robert Ames (Phantom Thread).

Cate gives a brilliant performance, as the responsibility of playing a world-class conductor falls squarely on her shoulders. Coached by BAFTA-nominated pianist-conductor Natalie Murray Beale, Cate’s training has paid off. Each downbeat is perfect, and it seems that she is genuinely leading the orchestra. Emotionally she hits her notes with traumatizing depth, and her performance resonates long after the audience leaves the theater. Nina Hoss (Homeland) also shines as Blanchett’s partner, Sharon, who plays the first chair violin in Lydia’s orchestra.

This is the kind of movie that highbrow art lovers will enjoy and will speak to anyone who has ever played in the symphony or lived with a musician. It gives more than a tiny peek into the world of classical music. Tár lifts the veil on the struggles of musicians and the arts until the last moments when the notes turn sour and the orchestra crescendos into a devastating finale. Field is speaking directly to an art-house movie audience with this film. As the film begins with the entire credits of the movie, it serves as almost a warning that both the film and Lydia Tár herself will challenge the audience’s patience and focus. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in a world of instant gratification. This movie is meant to be experienced like the movements of a symphony—a big, bold, emotional journey. The film doesn’t rely on special effects, but the heavy dialogue and scenes are often shot in one take. This film could feel overly long, but in the capable hands of this artistic team, it gives an important, timely message, and it seems that the sixteen years since Todd Field’s most recent film have been well worth the wait.