Cate Blanchett, always a high achiever, outdoes herself in this award-winning film about an award-winning conductor, a lesbian maestro whose sneakily abusive (and viciously petty, hypocritical and egocentric) behaviour makes her a target for the #MeToo movement. Blanchett and the team (writer-director Todd Field and countless others, unexpectedly credited at the beginning of the film, in a clear attempt to signal that this is a group effort, and leave space at the end for the even longer music credits) deserve to win big at all the glitzy ceremonies to come.
The fact that Lydia Tár is fuelled by lust, and has a smitten PA played by Portrait of a Lady on Fire’s Noémie Merlant, will lead some viewers to anticipate a movie packed with hot sex. All we see is a frazzled kiss between Tár and her long-suffering German wife, Sharon (Nina Hoss). Field’s not interested in screwing. He’s interested in how Tár’s ugly need to be on top screws up her brilliant career. The film’s subtitle could be Portrait of a Lady Who Gets Fired.
