I have to say that Tar is an exceptional movie but it took me two viewings to fully appreciate it. In my first viewing, I felt that it was slow and slightly boring even though there was lots of talk about classical music, which I am familiar with. There was a bit of ambiguity about whether Lydia actually committed criminal acts until well into the movie and it is rarely ever explicitly discussed. Very hushed like it would be in real life.
Other than the pace of the movie, I had no other complaints even in the first viewing. I felt that Cate Blanchett has definitively placed herself on the greats with the performance she showed here. The movie was essentially a character study of Lydia Tar and I thought that she was masterful. On my second viewing, I noticed how subtly emotionally manipulative she was -showing the audience the glimpse of her true colors. There were also subtle actions and shots that I missed and didn't make connections in the first viewing such as Lydia quickly erasing her original score once she realized it was Olga's playing. I also noticed her demeanor towards Francesca was also borderline problematic and that Krista (the redhaired victim) was watching her in the NY talk. All of these made me realize that you may need a second viewing to truly understand how "tarred" Lydia was. The movie doesn't always spell things out for you but that subtlety, as I realized in my second viewing, was quite exquisite.
Everything goes 0-100 in the matter of 20 minutes as Lydia's acts are uncovered but I found the ending hilarious. A lifetime of musical achievement and she is out in Asia conducting what looks like to be a young adult orchestra, game music for cosplayer event. It was just so unexpected and was comical that she still had the same poise and attitude towards music despite how much she has fallen, showing a striking contrast with the beginning of the film.
This movie showed me that I still have a long way to go in film appreciation and the beauty of subtlety. I expect fully that Lydia Tar will go down as a notable example in film of people who fell from the pedestal.
Other than the pace of the movie, I had no other complaints even in the first viewing. I felt that Cate Blanchett has definitively placed herself on the greats with the performance she showed here. The movie was essentially a character study of Lydia Tar and I thought that she was masterful. On my second viewing, I noticed how subtly emotionally manipulative she was -showing the audience the glimpse of her true colors. There were also subtle actions and shots that I missed and didn't make connections in the first viewing such as Lydia quickly erasing her original score once she realized it was Olga's playing. I also noticed her demeanor towards Francesca was also borderline problematic and that Krista (the redhaired victim) was watching her in the NY talk. All of these made me realize that you may need a second viewing to truly understand how "tarred" Lydia was. The movie doesn't always spell things out for you but that subtlety, as I realized in my second viewing, was quite exquisite.
Everything goes 0-100 in the matter of 20 minutes as Lydia's acts are uncovered but I found the ending hilarious. A lifetime of musical achievement and she is out in Asia conducting what looks like to be a young adult orchestra, game music for cosplayer event. It was just so unexpected and was comical that she still had the same poise and attitude towards music despite how much she has fallen, showing a striking contrast with the beginning of the film.
This movie showed me that I still have a long way to go in film appreciation and the beauty of subtlety. I expect fully that Lydia Tar will go down as a notable example in film of people who fell from the pedestal.