Vitriolic criticism from famous conductor Marin Alsop have been levied at the critically acclaimed film Tar. In response, the film’s star, Cate Blanchett, has come out and defended the film from criticism. Tar is a psychological thriller written and directed by Todd Fields that tells the story of a maestro conductor whose professional and personal life crumbles due to her ego and controlling behavior. Alsop, who some believe the character was based on, told the Sunday Times, “I was offended: I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian,” Alsop told a British media outlet. “To have an opportunity to portray a woman in that role and to make her an abuser — for me, that was heartbreaking.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, Blanchett snapped back at Alsop, who told The Sunday Times earlier this week that Tár, a story about a world-renowned conductor who faces allegations of sexual misconduct involving female victims, is “anti-woman.”
Blanchett said Aslop is “entitled to her opinion,” but she argued“Tár” is about power and not gender, nor sexual orientation. “It’s a meditation on power and power is genderless,” she said. Earlier in the interview, Blanchett described the film as “a meditation on power and the corrupting nature of power and I think that that doesn’t necessarily happen only in cultural circles.”
Blanchett said a man couldn’t have captured the nuance of the “corrupting nature” of power because “we understand so absolutely what that looks like. I think that power is a corrupting force no matter what one’s gender is. I think it affects all of us.” she elaborated. “I think that power is a corrupting force no matter what one’s gender is. I think it affects all of us,” she said.
Blanchett has captured a Golden Globe for her acting in Tar, which itself is a strong contender for the Oscars.
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