Movie · 2022 · Music, Drama · 2h 38m · R · English
Curator score: 8.5/10 (739.8K ratings)
Overview
As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.5/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.93/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Metacritic: 93
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Todd Field
Production
Focus Features, Standard Film Company, EMJAG Productions
Cast
Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Mark Strong, Sylvia Flote, Allan Corduner, Mila Bogojevic, Adam Gopnik, Marc-Martin Straub, Egon Brandstetter, Ylva Pollak, Paula Först, Sydney Lemmon, Nicolas Hopchet, Zethphan Smith-Gneist, Kitty Watson, Alec Baldwin, Jessica Hansen
Where to watch
Peacock, USA Network, Peacock Premium Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, unnerving character study about genius, power, and self-mythology, anchored by a towering central performance and precise formal control. It’s long, talky, and intentionally uncomfortable, but the movie’s ambiguity and slow-burn collapse make it one of the most rewarding prestige dramas of recent years.
Best for
Viewers who like psychologically dense character studies
Fans of performance-driven prestige drama
People interested in power, reputation, and institutional politics
Audiences who enjoy ambiguous, conversation-sparking endings
Skip if
You want a conventional plot with clear moral signposting
You dislike slow, dialogue-heavy films
You’re looking for a warm or emotionally reassuring drama
You prefer movies that explain their characters instead of observing them
Overview
TÁR is a cold, exacting study of a person who has built an empire out of talent, discipline, and control, then begins to watch that control fracture. Todd Field treats the world around Lydia Tár with near-clinical precision, turning rehearsals, interviews, and private routines into a pressure chamber where status and self-deception become inseparable.
Worth noting
What makes the film so compelling is how it refuses easy diagnosis. It is about misconduct and power, but also about artistry, ego, class, and the machinery that protects celebrated people until it doesn’t. The movie keeps shifting your footing, so you’re never quite sure whether you’re watching a downfall, a reckoning, or a self-authored performance of both.
Bottom line
Cate Blanchett’s performance is the engine that makes the whole thing feel alive and dangerous. The film is deliberately austere, but it’s also darkly funny and surprisingly suspenseful, with a final stretch that recontextualizes everything that came before it. It’s the kind of film that invites argument, rewatching, and a lot of post-screening overthinking.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Griffin Newman · 23497 likes
Gotta separate the Tár from the Tártist.
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music make you lose control
music make you lose control