Review by Degree7

Todd Fields made one of the best directing debuts ever in 2001 with "In the Bedroom". His latest feature doesn't quite live up to those standards, but the stylistic undercurrent is still there. The increasing neurosis and paranoia of the of the well-to-do protagonist, seeming to be undone by their toxic environment, is a through line to his previous features.

Howard Hawks once said that a good movie has three great scenes and no bad scenes. Tár has three good scenes, and the rest are tolerable. The opening is middling, and the editing is choppy and lacks a strong pace. But Cate Blanchett's portrayal is enough to bring about the audience's sympathy of being a scapegoat, while some dramatic tension is revealed in the sequences at Juilliard, the deposition, and an unexpectedly creepy moment when Linda is pursued through a dark, dank basement. Unfortunately the film never quite comes together to unify into a cohesive whole.