Cate Blanchett is truly fantastic in Tár. I'm sure she'll be nominated at pretty much every awards show. But the film is also more than just an Oscar vehicle. It addresses a wide range of issues affecting the world of arts in the twenty-first century. It's about separating art from the artist, systemic power abuse a la "MeToo," and the so-called "cancel culture." The focus here, however, is not on the victims. Instead, for almost the entire runtime (a whopping 158 minutes), we follow the fictional conductor Lydia Tár (Blanchett), who is guilty of quite a few things. Not everything she's accused of is true, though.

Not everyone will like the way the film answers the various questions. It positions itself too strongly in a certain direction for that. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to follow the main character in her downfall. I was also able to understand everything to some extent, even though I don't have much of a connection to classical music or the orchestral business. Yes, there are a lot of technical terms used, but you don't need to know them to understand the plot.

I did have an issue with the pacing, though. There are several lengthy, riveting scenes that stand out. These include the Juilliard lesson, which has been mentioned numerous times already. But I would also point to several dream sequences in which the main character's psychological breakdown is made apparent. In between these repeatedly great moments, however, the movie often became too drawn out for me. I sometimes couldn't stop myself from looking at my watch. But the film drew me back in near the end. I especially did not foresee how the story would end for Lydia Tár.