Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Tar

Cate Blanchett eats the hell out of the screen with this film Tar. Now I saw this film twice in one week and I’ll say why. The subject matter delves deep into this composer who Cate Blanchett plays it covers themes of sexual misconduct, trying to perfect your form and seeing someone who had everything loose it all. Because as much as I like this film with what it covers narratively and thematically it suffers a bit from its overlong runtime but it’s the performance from Cate Blanchett that is the force of nature that brings this story to life. 

Firstly, I will talk about the issues I had with the film first as their are a few. The film clocks in at 2 hours and 31 minutes and as much as I like that the film digs deep into the psychological warfare of the main character this film easily could of trimmed 15 minutes off the film because it does drag at parts where it could of tightened narratively. As at points you can very much feel the runtime and that’s the only issue I really have is that if they shortened a bit of the films runtime because the themes they explore in this film and the way they go about it is so amazingly well done. As it tackles topics like popularity power and how someone can abuse that to their advantage even to hide very shady things about themselves. It’s discussed very honestly and it sometimes looks very ugly and that’s the point as it’s all about abuse of power and how this conductor feels like she’s on top of the world because of how well established she is but behind closed doors and especially in her work sure she has a good work ethic but she’s very cutthroat and cruel to her peers and romantic partner. It then also delves into sexual misconduct territory with its themes and its handled very gently but it also doesn’t sugar coat anything either and it’s a very raw take on fame and the abusive high people get from it but also how it can fall so easily and change your entire life within seconds. It doesn’t try to be this overly political film but it dose deal with yes very relevant themes. But the film will draw you in with its fantastic editing and engaging story that gets its hooks into you the moment it starts. 

Secondly, the performance given by Cate Blanchett is on another level of outstanding. She commands the screen with an iron first of emotional grit and raw energy that can be felt through every inch of this film. She is the sole reason I would recommend people go see this film of course the narrative itself is good enough for me to recommend the film but it’s the performance that makes the film for me as she gives one of her all time greatest onscreen performances with her work in Tar. Everyone else is great but it’s Cate that will have your jaw on the floor for two and a half hours. 

Lastly, Tar doesn’t hold back and shows the ugly environment toxic power can cause in a person if not controlled as you see in many cases how this person is careless and rude but lets her ego get to her. It shows the shady elements of how fame can ruin someone, sexual misconduct and even loss of one’s true self it’s a fantastic film that is led by a powerhouse performance by the incredible Cate Blanchett firing on all cylinders Tar is yes a bit long but stay for the performance trust me what she’s giving onscreen is truly special. I recommend everyone go check this film out. 

This film centres around a conductor who abuses her colleges and manipulates her romantic partner as she lets her ego and fame eat at her personality and heart. 

Rated R : Some Language and Brief Nudity

Cate Blanchett : Cate Blanchett delivers a performance that will blow you away. Now I’ve been a fan of this actress for years she is one of my all time favourite actresses as she turns in amazing performances in everything she’s in. I still stand by her work in Blue jasmine and I’m not there  is my favourite works of her career but her turn in this film is very close. As she plays this incredibly drunk with power conductor who spits insults a mile a minute. But she also is incredibly intelligent and very talented and so she hides her true self behind her awards and all this acclaim she’s build her career up with over so many years. So she feels due to her fame she can use it as leverage to be cutthroat and not have any repercussions. And the way Cate commands the screen with that personality she plays is truly phenomenal. As she brings this wittyness and sharpness to her when presenting the dialogue to the screen in such a honest and impactful way. As she gets so into her character she plays and with the person she shows in Tar she fully goes off the deep end and becomes this person she has creative ways of insulting people if they don’t agree with her or she will find ways to get her point across about a creative project and will get the whole band to do it again and again until she is satisfied showing her colleges how much of a perfectionist she is but also how much she drills her discipline into her colleges too. Cate is truly captivating in the film as her character goes through absolute hell emotionally and she sheds so much of her arc over the course of the two and a half hours we see her onscreen and the amount of sides we see of her character is so engaging as Cate Blanchett is so committed to this performance you can see the energy she’s giving into the character with such burning passion as every word and expression she presents is so dazzling as she chews up the scenery with this complex individual and she doesn’t just show her bad sides but her very vulnerable sides too and we see how she opens her heart up and how hurt she is when her career is damaged in any way and how personal she takes it and will go to great lengths to keep the reputation she has built intact no matter what she has to do. And the way she’s able to have such a hurricane of emotion of anxiety that builds and builds over time until she explodes in sometimes psychically violent ways is shown in such a raw and authentic way that had me truly amazed. Cate plays this talented conductor that is a perfectionist but theirs so much more to her then that and she explores the dark depths of her heart in stunning raw honesty in truly one of her greatest onscreen performances of her career. She delivers a tour de force performance that will have you left speechless she’s outstanding. 

Todd Field : Todd directed the hell out of this film. Now a two hour and a half film about an abusive conductor isn’t easy to make entertaining but he makes it work so well. Because the biggest theme he discusses early on in the film is can you separate an artist’s personality from their work such as if their a horrible person can you still admire their work and separate those two things. As the character we follow in the film is a terrible person but makes beautiful art and it’s a tone that is very subtle which I loved but he also is able to bring you into this film with the amazingly sharp dialogue that grabs you the minute the film starts. As spoken about earlier he uses a lot of very real world topics from today in this film and it never felt preachy or over political but it worked very well with what he was trying to get across. As it’s not a easy watch but he brings the audience in with the incredible visuals the truly stunning sound mixing and editing and of course the central leading performance by Cate Blanchett at the helm of this great film. But it’s the way he is able to showcase this woman’s relationships with her work, Personal life and even her own emotional demons and all that is shown in very real ways and their never was a moment where I was bored sure their were times I felt scenes could of been cut a bit shorter but it always kept you constantly on the edge of your seat. He knows the audience isn’t meant to like this character but he wants you to understand who she is and why she’s such a perfectionist who will do anything for her art and he doesn’t shy away from the very bleak tones in this film he shows it for how it is and I admire that he didn’t water anything down but shows all sides to this character it made it the all more captivating to watch this great conductor fall from grace in such a well constructed well in terms of writing and directing Todd Field did a solid job at brining this tale of toxic power within fame to life in such a real way he truly put so much passion into the frame.