It shares a rare honour with The Social Network, L.A. Confidential and Schindler’s List.
Released in the UK in early 2023, Tar still has a spot near the top of our best movies of 2023 list, but because it was released in the States in late 2022 (to get that juicy Oscar attention), it is considered a 2022 release, hence the headline.
Regardless of which year it was released in, Tar is undoubtedly one of the best movies of the 2020s, and it was named 2022’s best movie more than any other movie released that year.
It is only the fourth movie ever to be named film of the year by the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the London Film Critics’ Circle and National Society of Film Critics, the first three being Schindler’s List, L.A. Confidential and The Social Network.
Written and directed by Todd Field (In The Bedroom, Little Children), the movie tells the story of Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) and is set within the international world of Western classical music. Tár herself is widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra. The only problem is, she might actually be a bit of a high-functioning sociopath…
Tar has an incredible score of 92 on Metacritic
Upon release in cinemas, the $25 million production only made $29.2 million worldwide at the box office, meaning chances are really high that this passed you by on the big screen. But now is absolutely the time to rectify that situation, as this is genuinely one of the best movies of recent years, as the critical responses can testify to:
NME – “Lydia Tár isn’t a real person, but this riveting film about the corrupting effects of power and privilege will make you think she is. That’s partly because writer-director Todd Field has created a terrifyingly believable character and world that she presides over.”
Empire – “This is a masterwork. A gripping, grown-up movie superbly orchestrated by Todd Field and perfectly played by a virtuoso, career-best Cate Blanchett. 158 minutes rarely flies by so quickly.”
Time Out – “Chilly, severe, distancing, utterly captivating and made with formidable filmmaking IQ, Tar is a movie very much in the mold of its ever-present central character: world-renowned conductor and fully functioning sociopath Lydia Tár.”
Tar is available to watch at home right now on Sky Cinema or with a NOW Cinema Membership.
