[MatthewWeflen]

I've seen the movie, if anyone would care to discuss it.

I was very surprised by the way it was constructed - almost as to be deliberately off-putting to people not deeply versed in the classical music world. Even I, who have purchased and read books and documentaries about this stuff, frequently though "why are they talking about X for so long?"

Anyway, I was also reasonably involved in the story of abuse of power and the celebrity cult of conductors. I thought things felt very realistic in that sense. And I quite enjoyed all the location filming in the Berlin Philharmonie among other places. Cate Blanchett was very good, as per usual.

 

[MatthewWeflen]

And one of the characters is, allegedly, an obvious reference to Marin Alsop; she is not best pleased. The director has denied that Tar is based on anyone.

Only just released here (10 days ago). I think I don't need to see it on the big screen.

My understanding is that it is gong to hit streaming on Peacock in the US at the end of this month. Don't know about UK/EU.

 

[MatthewWeflen]

Cate blanchett and the director have said that the movie isn’t about classical music, but about the abuse of power from people in positions of power. It’s stage is just the classical music world but the actual themes of the movie have nothing to do with it

Yeah, this is correct, to the movie's detriment for me. The Dresden Philharmonic sounds amazing in the movie, and we only get to hear them for little snippets. I think the movie (which I mostly liked) would be stronger if they gave us more music, by way of explaining how and why conductors are invested with such awe and reverence. If the movie were about abuses of power and status by film directors, I would want to see some of their craft as well, to explain why they are given such latitude.

 

[MatthewWeflen]

I've not seen the film but my understanding is that the conductor's career development mirrors Alsop's but that no attempt was made to base her character on Alsop's. Alsop is one of many who feel that choosing to show a woman as an abusive power freak - when the cases we know of were all men - is anti-feminist. Personally (and without having seen the film) I can buy into the idea that it is power that corrupts rather than testosterone.

It only really mirrors her in that she is a lesbian conductor. Alsop has never been the chief conductor of one of the big five, or the Berlin Philharmonic. The Tar character also claimed to have apprenticed with Bernstein (which doesn't make sense in terms of time line and may be a lie) and is also an ehtnomusicologist.

Personally, I see Alsop's point. It would be kind of like making a movie about the first Black president in 2010 and having the character be a lecherous preyer upon women. I could imagine A Black audience (or Black president) thinking "really? The first portrayal of one of us in that role and they make them the villain?"

This is irrespective of the quality of the movie, which was pretty good, although very self-consciously "arty" and impenetrable at times.

 

[MatthewWeflen]

I've seen Tar and EEAAO out of this year's best picture nominees. Although I liked them both, Tar is the only one I've continued thinking about in the weeks and months since.

 

[MatthewWeflen]

My understanding - could be wrong? - is that the evidence against Levine was very strong. The film is deliberately ambiguous as to whether or not Tar was guilty of anything more than being a bit of a dictator. The film, then, might be aimed at people who are delighted to pour bile on anyone rumoured without due process to have done something heinous.

The movie was pretty clear that Tar had had a sexual relationship with an aspiring conductor under her supervision, and then when the relationship ended, sabotaged her career by sending negative recommendations to other orchestras - leading to her suicide. She then hired a new musician based on her attractiveness and tried to start a physical relationship with her.

So while these actions are not rape per se, they're pretty classic sexual harassment and "creation of hostile work environment."