It’s been 16 years since Todd Field’s last movie. His first two movies – In the Bedroom and Little Children – both made my Top 10 list the years they came out. This film won’t make my list, but it’s going to make most critics’ lists. The few critics that haven’t liked it complained about it being an attack on “cancel culture” (which my wife and I didn’t feel it was). I was a bit more surprised the woke crowd wasn’t upset that Cate Blanchett played a lesbian, or that she was abusive towards her orchestra with her sexual favors. I’m glad they weren’t, because actors should be able to play any role they want. And this is a tour de force for Blanchett, who is going to be scoring a well-deserved Oscar nomination for playing conductor Lydia Tar.
The film starts in a smart way, that is also one of the flaws in the film. It’s an interview with Tar in which we’re hearing just how accomplished she is (an EGOT winner – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony wins). Yet that scene goes on for 15 minutes. It should have been edited down to five. In fact, the two hour and 40 minute film needed 40 minutes taken off it. There are scenes where she’s having lunch with contemporaries and talking about Bach’s Mass in D Minor, Leonard Bernstein, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, and…unless you’re well-versed in those pieces, your eyes will glaze over. I had the same complaint when Tarantino did a 10 minute scene in Inglourious Basterds, where they talk about French directors in the early 1900s. Now don’t get me wrong, I love when a movie teaches me about subjects I knew little about. Yet you don’t leave this movie knowing more about what it is a conductor does; although I absolutely loved the scene where she’s talking about phrasing during rehearsals, or teaching a class at Juilliard and kind of berating a student who is giving her answers she doesn’t agree with.
We watch as Tar travels and performs. She lives in Berlin with her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss, who is terrific), and their young daughter. She’s working with the Berlin Philharmonic to record a new interpretation of Mahler’s Fifth. She still keeps her old apartment, where she likes to work – and have affairs. We see she has an assistant, who tries to keep her out of trouble. For example, one previous affair is stalking her. And something happens with that character that made me think of the much better music movie – Whiplash (J.K. Simmons). It’s also interesting to find out the ambitions of the assistant, and to speculate as to whether Tar also has had an affair with her.
The film becomes an interesting character study of Tar, but I yearned more for the thriller elements it hinted at. There are times you think it’s going down a Black Swan path. And, you’re wondering if there could possibly be some kind of downfall with a character as accomplished as Tar is. In Whiplash, we see the professor of a prestigious music school fired, and then playing at a piano bar. It’s fun to speculate as to where Tar may end up, or if the accusations against her won’t even affect her career. In classical music, there have been these types of cases – conductor James Levine and Placico Domingo come to mind.
There were long monologues that showed Blanchett’s brilliance as an actress, but also weren’t all that interesting. Yet watching her subtle arrogance…I just can’t imagine any other actress but Tilda Swinton pulling off this role. And it makes things rather compelling. Also impressive to hear her speak three languages and watch her play piano (which she learned for this role; she also learned how to conduct, but come on…isn’t that just waving a stick around and making facial expressions?). If I’m wrong about that last comment, perhaps the film should have done a better job of conveying just what a conductor does. After the movie, I left knowing nothing more about it. The movie also, surprisingly, didn’t have much of a score.
There’s a segment with a Russian cello player that’s a bit too predictable, but it goes in interesting directions. Especially a scene with a “blind audition.” This maestro is a monster, and my favorite kind on screen – one that isn’t so over-the-top with it. Well, there is a scene where she comes out to the orchestra, while the opening trumpet of Mahler’s Fifth starts – and you just don’t see it coming. Some very powerful stuff. Again, reminding me of scenes in Whiplash. There’s also a scene that’s straight out of Mr. Holland’s Opus – both films had much better endings. The third act of this didn’t make a lot of sense, if you really think about it.
At the end of the day, my wife and I both liked it, despite it being too long. I’ll just have a hard time recommending it to people that don’t know the difference between Bill Maher and Mahler.
3 stars out of 5.