Cate Blanchett and Todd Field first discussed working together more than a decade ago, but she knew nothing about TÁR at the time that the filmmaker finally sent her the script. The drama features the two-time Oscar-winning actress as Lydia Tár, a world-renowned conductor whose life and career begin to crumble around her. With her performance, Blanchett earned her eighth Oscar nomination (five times for Best Actress and three times for Best Supporting Actress).
"He didn't want to tell me anything about it," Blanchett said during an Academy-hosted Q&A for the film. "When we began to speak about it, the conversation was intensely practical because there was so much to do. It wasn't until we actually got on set and started to deconstruct the scenes that we got to the metaphysical layers."
Still, Blanchett wanted to leave as many mysteries for herself as there would be for the audience. "You don't necessarily want to have everything tied down and answered," she explained. "This film, as an experience, I hope asks more questions than it answers, and that was part of the process. It's a rehearsal movie, and art imitated life in that way. The process of making it was just so invigorating and challenging — not only physically but emotionally and metaphysically."
At the 95th Oscars, Tár is nominated for Best Picture among six total nominations, also including Best Actress (Blanchett), Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (Field), Best Cinematography (Florian Hoffmeister) and Best Film Editing (Monika Willi).
Watch the full Academy Conversation below for more insight into the making of Tár from Blanchett and Willi, as well as co-stars Nina Hoss and Sophie Kauer, costume designer Bina Daigeler and production designer Marco Bittner Rosser.
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