The Oscars are always a great excuse to see moving performances. Each year, the best actor and actress categories always select a couple of talented newcomers as well as long-time stars facing new challenges in their careers. That’s why nobody is surprised to seeCate Blanchettonce again for a female role accolade. She’s built a reputation for depicting complex characters that generate buzz among viewers. For the 2023 Academy Awards Ceremony, her personification of Lydia Tár, the first female chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, has received a nomination.
Tár, theacclaimed piecefrom director Todd Field, follows this troubled female maestro as her career peaks and plummets after a series of incidents. The movie is packed with insightful dialogue that offers a glimpse at the character’s very particular mind. As usual, Blanchett’s criteria for choosing complex characters to portray becomes clear on the screen in an award-worthy performance. As usual, Cate has somefeisty contenders in the female lead category, but this time, her performance stands out for many reasons. Here’s a closer look at what makes this one so special.
Tár Puts a Woman in the Role of a Power-Blind Leader
And not just any woman. Many may recall Cate Blanchett’s brilliant interpretation of a Bob Dylan’ based movie calledI’m not there. The film is composed of different stories that pay homage to the songwriter with characters inspired by him. Blanchett played a very similar character to the artist, showing a masculine energy to portray a rebellious musician accused of selling out. InTár,while not playing a man, Blanchett’s character exhibits part of this more masculine vibe to develop her role inTár.
As a female orchestral director, Lydia Tár is quickly inquired about her feelings towards women in classical music in one of the movie’s first scenes. Her ambiguity on the subject is quickly established, defining a complex personality that Blanchett gradually rolls out throughout almost 3 hours.
Lydia Tár exhibits every typical abusive attitude but with a different lens. She’s seen power-playing a colleague to remove him from his role, discretional casting on the basis of personal interest, and humiliating students because of their opinions. The movie becomes the rise and fall of the Maestra, offering an initially admirable representation of her that starts tearing apart untilit explodes by the end. The true change in approach is that these kinds of abusive behaviors are more associated with men. Making a woman the target of eventual cancelation for these acts is not a statement on how women can also perpetuate them but more of a structure that makes them possible.
Blanchett embodies an ancient and conservative structure that was equally unfair to her, even if she is not fully aware of it. Her triumph in an unwelcoming environment for women makes Lydia Tár embrace the unfair practices of the field instead of inspiring her to challenge the status quo.
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Cate Blanchett’s Performance Offers a Glimpse at a Rarely-Seen Profession
Classical music holds a very specific place in Hollywood. Those interested inclassical music moviesmay mostly recall the biopics of famous composers or relevant episodes in their lives, such asAmadeusorThe Pianist. They are usually set in past times, giving a stellar role to properly portray the era.Táris set in the present, showing how even professional orchestral musicians and maestros face current issues, such as inappropriate work environments and cancel culture.
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Composing the protagonist of this movieclearly meant a lot of research for Cate Blanchett. Part of building her as a commendable character that slowly starts showing the most vicious practices of the profession involves her giving long and complex dialogues in which she dazzles her fictitious audiences with her profound knowledge of orchestral direction. She is a strong woman sensitive to compliments and is highly regarded within her exclusive circle.
Furthermore, the movie, and Blanchett’s performance, play constantly with the audience’s understanding of classical music. The film throws a lot of information at viewers, taking technical terms from the profession, baffling at some points. However, it is all part of Lydia Tár’s depiction. As the movie progresses, the dialogue-centered scenes give space to more introspective moments for Cate Blanchett to show the troubled mind of her character with insightful and revealing segments. This is potentiated by the movie’s lack of background music, excluding the moments where instruments are seen. This means the tone is fully credited to Cate Blanchett and the cinematography, which sets extremely emotional tones and tensions with very little.
All in all,Táris a series of good decisions, production-wise. With excellent direction, intelligent dialogues, and a memorable performance from the renowned actress, the movie in general, and Blanchett in particular, have all the ingredients to make it with an accolade from the Academy in the next ceremony.
