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Peacock just added a must-watch psychological drama featuring an incredible Cate Blanchett performance
“Tár” has officially come back home to Peacock, giving the streaming service one of the best movies of 2022 and perhaps the best performance of star Cate Blanchett’s illustrious career.
For a brief moment in time, this movie was the talk of the film industry and a dark horse candidate to win Best Picture, largely due to Blanchett’s performance.
Ultimately, though, it was overshadowed by the success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and with a box office gross totaling just under $30 million, there’s a good chance you’ve either forgotten about this movie or never even heard of it in the first place.
So let’s dive into what “Tár” is about and why this psychological drama is a must-watch masterpiece.
What is ‘Tár’ about?
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“Tár” stars Blanchett as the titular Lydia Tár, the chief conductor of the Berlin orchestra. She’s prestigious, acclaimed — she’s an EGOT winner who studied under Leonard Bernstein.
In short, she’s at the top of her game. But over the course of the movie, we see her personality traits and actions lead her down a path of self-destruction that causes strain on the relationships in her life, namely those with her wife Sharon (Nina Hoss) and assistant Francesca (Noémie Merlant).
This downward spiral would make for a solid plot for a drama on its own. But writer/director Todd Field throws in another wrinkle: Lydia is becoming increasingly sensitive to sound.
Combined with other mental and physical ailments, this malady only serves to exacerbate her existing drama, which all builds in a spectacular crescendo that culminates in a shocking moment of physical violence.
‘Tár’ is controlled chaos — with Blanchett at the center
“Tár” fails without Blanchett at its center. She’s able to perfectly convey the portrait of a woman completely in control, while being a raging storm within, ready to explode at any moment.
Those explosions of rage don’t always come at a full fortissimo, though. Often, they’re calm, calculated, but with menace dripping in the neutrally delivered dialogue.
There’s a scene in particular where Lydia directly confronts her daughter’s bully at her daughter’s school. She addresses the girl, Johanna, as Petra’s “father,” choosing to assert herself in a powerful, masculine form, despite being a self-proclaimed “U-Haul lesbian,” and threatens to utterly destroy Johanna if she continues to bully Petra or tell anyone about the conversation.
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This whole scene is done in a relatively calm tone, given that Field’s dialogue could easily deliver a tirade without changing a word.
I know I just said that this movie fails without Blanchett at the center, but to be clear, it also fails without Field directing Blanchett and giving her the ammunition to deliver a bravura performance. These two are in concert with each other throughout the movie, and it’s why it’s a must-watch now that it’s available to stream on Peacock.
Stream “Tár” now on Peacock
