No. 6 (2023) TA'R. 19th Jan.

 

Film No. 6 (2023)  January 19th.  6:45 PM  EVENT Cinemas,  Vmax Cine 11, Innaloo.

 

"You want to dance the masque, you must service the composer" (Lydia Tar addresses one of her class lectures).

WINNER:  Movie of the Year  (Todd Field)  AFI Awards, USA.   Best Director (Todd Field).  Boston Society of Film Critics.

There is a scene, early in TAR where Lydia (Cate Blanchett) crouches down and confronts a class mate of her daughter's. The classmate is a bully and Lydia calmly, in 30 seconds leaves the small girl with no options but too avoid having any further contact with Petra (Mila Bogojevic). We are expecting tears from the girl, but Lydia's words have left her too shocked to move. We too, are left to contemplate what we have just witnessed. Tar will shock us less and less as we learn about who Lydia really is.

Todd Field (LITTLE CHILDREN 2006) returns to the world of cinema. How good is that? Field is a serious film-maker who, as a family man living in Maine, he's spent the last 15 years writing, adapting, re-writing, being rejected, raising finance etc etc, with mixed fortunes. Thank goodness, during this time, he has been hatching TAR. A film that plays as a bio pic of a baton-wielding maestro; perhaps the most respected conductor in contemporary times. The opening scene, cleverly fills us in on the achievements of Lydia Tar. She nervously waits back stage as her interviewer spends 5 minutes reminding his live audience of the achievements of his esteemed guest. From the moment Blanchette strides on stage, she holds us in her hands, massaging her brilliance into our psyche. Field is back.

In this age of Me Too there are some serious issues Lydia Tar brings to the table. Her position as an outrageously talented musician, in her mind, gives her  licence to use people in any way she chooses. Is she Weinstein-esque? Yes, in parts, but less brash and with a subtlety that creeps up on the audience. When she doesn't have the smarts to realize her frailties, her behaviour becomes erratic, but on reflection and considering her ego, the film's conclusion rings true.     

Once again, a reminder, Lydia Tar is not a real person. Even when you know this, you're tempted to conduct a smart-phone search just to make doubly sure. Audience members were doing it in numbers as we left our screening. The realism Field delivers here gives TAR the legitimate power it deserves.   11GUMS.   

Where has Todd Field been?