dex14

https://thefilmstage.com/first-plot-...ate-blanchett/

It has been too damn long since Field has made another film!

Throwing Copper

Wow. I didn’t realize he hasn’t made a movie since Little Children. Figured he had I just missed them.

I wonder why, I mean he can obviously get top tier talent.

I remember him as an actor from the great TV series Once and Again as well as Eyes Wide Shut.

dex14

Fidelio.

Coral

I've been waiting for his next film since Little Children.

Looking forward to this. Hope he continues at the same quality level.

dex14

E Unit

Okay...

It's Cate Blanchett, so I'll watch it. But that trailer isn't a very good sell.

GoldenJCJ

Yeah, I love Cate Blanchett but I’ll wait for reviews on this. I understand that some movies just aren’t for me and based on that trailer this looks like one of them.

dex14

dex14

Reviews from Venice: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tar_2022

This will be a main Oscar contender for sure.

jfoobar

Cate Blanchett nabs second Venice best actress award

I had vague recollections of Todd Field as a supporting actor in movies like Gross Anatomy and Twister and remembered him a bit better from Walking and Talking, where he has a much more substantial role.

In the late 90s, I did DVD reviews for a couple of years for a now-defunct DVD-centric website that was similar to this one, but without the forums. I would just review whatever they sent me, some good, some awful, often lesser-known indie films. One such film was called Broken Vessels, which co-starred Field. It was a pretty good film hampered more than anything else by it's really low budget. As anyone who has ever done film or DVD reviews can tell you, you end up learning a lot more about the movie than if you had merely just watched it so Field was much more on my mental radar than he would have been otherwise.

Flash forward a year or two and In the Bedroom comes out, directed by hot newcomer "Todd Field". I remember checking IMDb to see if it was the same "Todd Field" thinking no, it couldn't be. He's too much of a nobody and too young to be directing a film with actors like Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson and Marisa Tomei. I was quite surprised to discover that yes, indeed, it was the same guy.

Like Coral, I am surprised how few films Field has done. This is only his third feature in 21 years. Like Golden, I also wonder if this one is for me. I loved Bedroom and enjoyed but didn't love Little Children (although the book club scene has stuck with me). As someone whose tastes tend more towards high-quality mainstream than art house, this one may be outside of my strike zone.

Coral

This is right in my wheel house. Anticipated third film from a director who's impressed me so far, arthouse film, Blanchett and the setting of a symphony.
I think I just came.

jfoobar

Yeah, I have been a huge Cate fan since Paradise Road (another late 90s DVD I reviewed as it happens) and went to see Elizabeth on the day it opened based largely on her presence. On a related note, while I don't actually have a celebrity "free pass" list, she would probably be the only name that was on mine for 20 years straight. And with Amadeus and the otherwise largely-forgotten The Competition on my personal Top 10 list, I obviously don't have a problem with classical music-related plots. Yet, this one looks to be a bit much for me. That said, there are a thousand different ways to craft a trailer so maybe it is a different film than how it is being presented here.

dex14

Coral

That trailer has me even more interested.

dex14

This was excellent and will certainly be a front-runner for multiple categories come awards season. Blanchett is on fire. I don't know if I would say it is better than Blue Jasmine, but it is absolutely one of her best performances. The script is really well written. It is very topical and there is a good amount of humor. My only real complaint is the run time is a bit too long. They probably could've trimmed around 15-20 mins off.

Welcome back, Todd Field. I hope he can get other projects off the ground. After reading about "where he has been" for the last few years, it sounds like he had multiple projects that were in the works and fell apart at the last minute. So he had been working, but a string of unfortunate events.

Throwing Copper

This is now one of my most anticipated. So thrilled for all the great reviews.

dex14

Expands this weekend.

rocket1312

I was excited to see this is opening near me, but I almost exclusively see movies during the week after 8pm. The only post 8pm showings this week are at 10:20pm. The movie is 2hr 40min! Guess I won't be seeing it this week.

DaveNinja

Just saw this. It was good but too long and boring at parts. Friday evening showing and there was only one other person (besides my wife and I) in the theater.

Crocker Jarmen

This is the perfect movie to see in the theatre. In a dark auditorium, with no distractions, I could allow myself to become completely engrossed. It doesn't have a traditional narrative, the first hour of the movie seems like a collection of scenes that run in real time. I didn't find that boring, but instead freeing. I wasn't thinking about length of time, or estimating how far along in the story we are so that the next incident must happen soon. I just got to luxuriate in mood of the movie. It was very relaxing, perfect for a cold winter night. I don't want to go back on the cold street, let the movie run forever.

Given how many scenes there was of her being interrupted by various noises, it's ironic that during the whole movie the vibrations and explosions of an action film bleed into the auditorium (not sure if it was Black Adam or this Japanese cartoon).

There's no score in the movie, all the audio comes from whatever is created on-set. I'm often disappointed by how often movies smother every scene with a musical score, using it almost like a laugh-track, so that we know if this part is supposed to be funny/scary/exciting/tense. I appreciated the filmmakers of Tar backing away from that, and giving each scene the freedom to express its tone.

Great ending. I did not see the final ten seconds coming after all that build-up. I nearly burst out laughing, not because it was funny, but because it was so unexpected yet perfectly obvious.

Dan

Well damn. I was totally content waiting for this to hit one of the streaming services, but based on Crocker's review, I actually want to see this in a real theatre. My best option seems to be Cinemark.

dex14

I really hope "Apartment for sale!" gets an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Crocker Jarmen

If you go, I hope you're not disappointed. Seeing it in a theatre greatly enhanced my experience, simply because I have so many bad habits of distraction when I watch movies at home (check my phone, play with the cat, pause the movie to see how far in we are...). This was a great movie to give my full attention to, because the longer I watched the more rewards there were.

rocket1312

This is probably the best thing I've seen this year. Blanchett absolutely steamrolls through this movie. I have no idea what the prospective best actress race is looking like, but I can't even begin to fathom someone else winning this year.

Dan

I was not disappointed! Enjoyed it quite a lot, and I agree with practically everything you've said here. Plus, Blanchett is just fantastic in this role.