Cate Blanchett conducts: first review - SlippediscSlippedisc | The inside track on classical music and related cultures, by Norman Lebrecht

The Times film critic Kevin Maher acclaims the actress as a Mahler conductor in her new film, Tar, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

… There are thus enormous early sections of the film that unfold in slow, unfussy real-time, such a long and obsequious interview that Tár grants to The New Yorker, where she pontificates about her career and delivers declamatory maxims such as, “Good music can be as ornate as a cathedral!”

These scenes are vital in establishing Tár’s intoxicating power and imperious self-belief. And if Blanchett has done this personality “type” before (she’s been fierce in everything from Blue Jasmine to Thor: Ragnarok) it’s where she takes Tár next (basically, into the abyss) that’s the most remarkable, and difficult, and is why she’s an instant frontrunner for next year’s best actress Oscar….