▶️Tár: An Artist's Self-destruction

First of all, this is not a biographical film about a musician, the characters are fictional, and it does not explore achievements or hard work, but it deals with Cancel Culture. It is about how a famous and admired celebrity fell from grace due to the abuse of power.

In recent years, there have been many real-life famous people who have fallen from grace in this way. This film tells the story from the perspective of a female character, to show that these things do not only happen to men. The abuse of power and excessive self-interest that leads to the destruction of reputation is not gender-specific, and anyone who is famous and powerful may face it.

This year Cate Blanchett is nominated for another Oscar as leading actress. Although I don't think her performance exceeds her Oscar-winning film Blue Jasmine, the role in this film is more suitable for her. She plays a tough bossy lesbian who looks handsome every time she wears a suit. However, as a lesbian, Tar's preference for talented young girls has caused her trouble. You could easily change this character to a man, and the story would still work.

On the one hand, Tár is an outstanding female conductor and an object of admiration for countless women; On the other hand, after becoming famous, she becomes arrogant, and when she had a lot of power, she did not use it fairly, ultimately her image collapsed.

This is similar to the incidents we have seen before, where female students were sexually assaulted by male teachers. When people hold power, whether they are male or female, they may not be fair. Tar actually represents all successful people who have achieved honor and respect, but the power that comes with it can make them forget their friends and family who helped them succeed, and become more self-absorbed.

The pace of the film is actually not very good, with long conversations that can be a bit boring, especially in the first 30 minutes. For example, there is an interview that lasts about 15 minutes, which is so long that I forgot it is a movie. The editing in the later part is sometimes abrupt, especially in terms of sound, sometimes the music suddenly stops or becomes louder, and the lighting often suddenly changes from darkness to brightness, it seems that this is done to prevent the audience from falling asleep. But if you don't give up, you will be deeply moved by the story, especially the strong contrast of the person's life after quickly falling from grace.

This story is somewhat similar to Ellen DeGeneres, Woody Allen, Kevin Spacey, Bryan Singer, and Amber Heard. These celebrities were once famous, but later were ostracized due to their behavior. And 10 or 20 years ago, these people were unlikely to be canceled, but in today's era, people no longer tolerate such behavior, especially with the population of feminism, many powerful people have been exposed. However, at the same time, the film seems to be saying that as a woman, when you gain the same power, can you really do better than those men? Is it really all about gender?

Let's talk about Cate Blanchett, who is also an outstanding actress, but has been humble in her interactions with others in recent years, and has a very good personal reputation. Power and fame can change a person, but it mainly depends on whether they can avoid losing themselves in it. In the case that the content discussed in this film aligns well with the cultural characteristics of the American entertainment industry, it has a good chance of being favored during the awards season.