A career high for Cate Blanchett is a career low for Lydia Tár, the actor’s character in the upcoming psychological drama Tár. The subject of Todd Field’s Venice Film Festival breakout is a renowned conductor who’s led the most decorated symphonies in the world, reaching EGOT status and international acclaim. In the film’s final trailer, we see Tár, now the principal conductor at the Berlin orchestra, going about her day’s business and sharing tender moments with her partner and daughter. There’s a ringing in her ear though, a nuisance that she can’t shake. It’s hampering her compositions and her ability to conduct, worrying those around her. “She’s starting to disappear into herself,†a voice narrates. Adding to the intrigue, her assistant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire’s Noémie Merlant) is receiving weird emails. As paranoia sets in, Tár begins to run — to the hot springs, down dark corridors, on empty streets, up that hill — until we see her disheveled face on stage, radiating madness. “You must, in fact, stand in front of the public and God and obliterate yourself,†Tár declares. Her downfall, though, makes a hearty feast for Cate Blanchett. Watch the actor eat up this role in select theaters October 7.
Cate Blanchett Conducts Her Own Demise in Tár
