Lydia Tár, a legendary conductor at the peak of her powers, begins to unravel as her past abuses of power catch up with her. Todd Field's film cares as much about the nature of genius and institutional authority as it does about holding her morally accountable.
Tár is a 2022 drama and music film directed by Todd Field. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (3 narrative and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Chinatown uses several of the same techniques.
Telling the story through a character you can't trust, because they are lying, mentally unwell or fooling themselves. At some point, you have to rethink what you were told.
How this film uses it
Everything you know about Lydia Tár, you know through the way she presents herself (the New Yorker Festival interview, the Juilliard masterclass, the rehearsals). Field never gives you an outside view to correct it. You have to read the gaps, what she leaves unsaid and what other people's reactions mean. From those, you build an account that differs from hers.
Where to see it
The Juilliard masterclass. Lydia performs her philosophy for an audience. The scene shows her as impressive, and it also reveals a lot about how her authority works.
Centering the film on a character who has to keep performing, on stage or under a false identity. They fear being exposed and slowly lose track of who they really are.
How this film uses it
Lydia Tár's entire identity is made of performance: conducting, teaching, speaking, being watched. She is supremely confident, so failure doesn't worry her. What worries her is that the performance might end and the audience that makes her who she is might walk away. When that audience does leave, the film tracks what remains.
Where to see it
Lydia conducting the Mahler. Her total control is at its most visible here and also at its most fragile. The baton is both her instrument and the evidence.
Watching events from a measured distance with no swelling music, tear-jerking close-ups or showy camera moves. The film trusts what happens to carry the weight on its own.
How this film uses it
Field and cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister shoot in long takes with very little camera movement. They watch Lydia and never tell you how to feel about what you see. That restraint is the point. You have to do the interpreting that a conventional film would do for you, and the film's moral position comes out of that work.
Where to see it
The long takes of Lydia's rehearsals. The camera watches her use her authority without commenting, and the judgment is left entirely to you.
Writing an opponent the film never fully labels as evil. Their motives mix ordinary human wants with real harm, and they may even help the hero grow.
How this film uses it
Lydia is the film's abuser and its most interesting person. The film gives her the best arguments, the most developed inner life and the most screen time. Field refuses to shrink her into a cautionary tale, so you have to hold her real genius and her real harm at the same time. Holding both at once is pretty much the film's subject.
Where to see it
Lydia's argument with Max at the Juilliard masterclass. Her reasoning about power and art is compelling. The rest of the film still lets you see what the argument is doing for her.
Questions
Tár: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Tár use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Tár (2022): Unreliable Narrator, Performance Anxiety as Theme, Observational Restraint and Ambiguous Antagonist.
Who directed Tár?
Todd Field directed Tár, released in 2022. CineCode also covers Little Children (2006).
What films are similar to Tár?
Films that share techniques with Tár include Chinatown (1974), Anatomy of a Fall (2023), The Shining (1980), Whiplash (2014).
