It’s hard to say that something has been worth the wait when that wait has been 16 years, which is how long it’s been since Todd Field’s previous feature, Little Children.
All the same, it’s very good to have this fine filmmaker back on the scene with Venice Film Festival competition entry Tár, a weighty new drama that creates an exceptionally detailed portrait of a promethean artist eventually hoisted on her own petard.
Smart upscale audiences hungry for an absorbing high-end drama about a brilliant female conductor who might be her own worst enemy will luxuriate in this very of-the-moment look at the international classical music scene; probably never has a commercial American film devoted itself so intently and comprehensively to fashioning a many-layered portrait of what a top-tier contemporary musician actually does on a day-to-day basis.
It takes a while for this nearly three-hour odyssey to achieve lift-off but, when it does, it soars. It’s more than worthy of any serious viewer’s attention, and classical music devotees will settle in happily for a long repast unlike anything they’ve seen onscreen before.
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