“Blanchett’s performance is … brilliant. She is able to convey the many dimensions of her character, luring us in with her intelligence, before making us recoil from her cruelty.“
“The trouble is, for most part I was recoiling and found the pacing tedious. The acting saved the film for me and Blanchett should win a coveted Best Actor Oscar.”
Con Nats
3.5 Batons
Our Cate’s latest film is one that is already garnering so much attention and controversy, one is almost wary of reviewing it. However, having already won two Best Actress awards it’s one which will divide audiences and deserves attention.
Lydia Tar (Cate Blanchett) is a highly respected conductor in the male dominated world of symphony. The film opens with her holding an intense chat at a festival where we marvel at her knowledge of music, her respect and understanding of her mentor Leonard Bernstein and the role of women. It’s exposition heavy but gives us an insight into her character.
We see her as a teacher, debating, cajoling and ultimately insulting a student over his aversion to Brahms over his misogyny. She argues that to give yourself to music means almost defiling and subjugating yourself to the art. The dialogue is quite and intense and is virtually another language.
What is most fascinating is seeing how a conductor works in rehearsals, where you really see the influence a conductor has on the interpretation of a piece.
We also see her as a caring partner and mother. Sharon’s (Nina Hoss) looks and glares say more than any dialogue.
Tar is at the top of her game and peak of her powers. She ignores the desperate texts and messages of a former protégé, Krista Taylor. She openly plots to ‘rotate out’ her assistant conductor and insultingly overlooks her personal assistant Francesca (Naomie Merlant, Portrait of a Lady On Fire) for the role. And when she auditions for the lead cellist, it upsets the present lead. She is brutal in her honesty yet deceptive in her manipulations, particularly with younger women. She isn’t a forward sexual harasser; she grooms her targets slowly.
It is when Krista (who we only see from behind) suicides that Tar’s world starts to fold in on her. She continues with her plan to open in Berlin but her appointment of favourites such as the attractive Olga (Sophie Kauer) over loyalists that helps set the wheels in motion.
This is a difficult movie. The script features long scenes of unintelligible dialogue about music scores. If the objective was to highlight Tar’s brilliant mind it was achieved in the opening scene. She is a fervent perfectionist.
The length and pacing are also slow. It’s not until the hour mark that the plot progresses into the ramifications of Krista’s suicide, and much of the drama is left out while writer/director Todd Field focuses on the impacts. Scenes of exposition are counterbalanced by the subtlety of the backstory with Krista and the hint of a previous romance with Francesca.
The high point is how well Blanchett tackles the conflicts of her character. She is highly intelligent, charming and attractive. But she is also narcissistic, cruel and manipulative. You could argue these are the basis of success in this dog eat cat world. She is the sort of person you could admire from afar but would hate to work for. Blanchett makes you both admire and despise her. It’s a difficult balance which she manages well.
The controversy surrounds a conductor this script was loosely based on and the fact Cate has played a role where a lesbian is a sexual predator in an industry dominated by men who have also played the sexual harassment game. I can’t comment on the former and reject the latter.
This film is a character study on the effect of unchecked power. The gender is meaningless. It is worth questioning why highlight female misogyny in such a male dominated industry when only about eight of the top 100 conductors today are women. From my experience this sort of behaviour is not restricted to one gender and by showing a female in this role, it makes this very point. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely regardless of gender. We already know men abuse it.
And this is why Blanchett’s performance is so brilliant. She is able to convey the many dimensions of her character, luring us in with her intelligence, before making us recoil from her cruelty.
Florian Hoffmeister’s cinematography is impressive; both dark and brooding and then lush with colour when there’s music. It really complements the moods.
The trouble is, for most part I was recoiling and found the pacing tedious. The acting saved the film for me and Blanchett should win a coveted Best Actor Oscar. The ending is quite satisfying and one of the few notes of humour. I simply wish we reached it far earlier.
Con Nats, On The Screen
