click here to read my (proper) review!
probably in my top 3 films of all time tbh i loved this so much. SO MUCH TO UNPACK AND ENGAGE WITH!! i honestly havent really done that yet and so this review will not be as deep as i'd have liked it to be but nonetheless i don't think that undermines how much i appreciate this film.
first of all i have to comment on the premise of the film and the plot because it really drew me in. storytelling was fastastic and well-executed and i loved that such a unique perspective was shown! field's portrayal of lydia tar was multifaceted and very much full of depth, so much so that it led me to think that this was actually based on someone in real life. i feel so dense for missing this out during the film, but the immersion in her perspective somehow led me to mistakenly think that lydia was being falsely accused or that some sort of misunderstanding had occured. however i think her misconduct became a lot more apparent to me when i was pondering on the film.
of course, this changes a lot of things, and the audience is made to stand between viewing lydia as a villain or as a victim. in fact, the very one-sided portrayal of lydia allows people like me to ignore the obvious signs and clues, and allows us to more easily dismiss any notions that do not fit with our idealised version of her. the cinematography also highlights this: the close-ups and centered shots on her do well to isolate us in her narrative.
the disparity between her "untouchability" at the start and her vulnerabilities towards the end was also definitely well-shown. i loved the scene where lydia seeks familiarity and comfort in the only place that she feels may not be lost to her: her own home. i was amazed by cate blanchett's acting in this scene!! i watched a short video of field unpacking this scene on the new york times and now ive come to appreciate it and its significance a lot more as well.
i will admit i did get kind of lost towards the end of the film where everything starts to unravel and lydia is forced to move abroad. i believe the events during the climax of the story, as well as after, actually hold a lot of significance in the movie, but i suppose the faster pace towards the end was intentional on field's side as well. the scenes were a bit more disjointed and there didn't seem to be such a strong sense of continuity or logical flow because (like lydia), the plot had lost most of what the movie was building up to post-climax. this is definitely not a bad thing and especially since the audience is immersed in the story via lydia's perspective, i think this was quite artful to show the turmoil she faced during her downfall.
one scene i was unable to decipher during the movie would be the massage parlour scene towards the end, but i've searched it up and it makes a lot more sense to me now because it reminded her of olga and her own past. it probably also put things in a new perspective, where lydia is better able to comprehend the power imbalance between herself and her students.
i think it presented very interesting takes on themes including art (of course), identity, prestige, and power. for me one thing that i really appreciated was lydia's monologue during her guest lesson at juilliard about how you can appreciate an artist's work while simultaneously critically viewing their personal life, as well as how these very words came back to haunt her during her own downfall, when the out of context and poorly edited clips were used against her. the irony here definitely highlighted this dilemma: should we continue to support people who are fantastic in their work but are horrible people in real life? of course, that is also a question i grapple with and i appreciated this new perspective on it.
seeing that this movie's whole premise is classical music, i must comment on their use of sound and music in the film. i personally really enjoyed elgar's cello concerto and the mahler pieces played... so beautiful!! but to me what was more striking would be the very silent atmosphere towards the start, contrasted with the noisy and lively atmosphere towards the end, which makes the narrative seem less isolated or focused on her. in the bustling city in philippines, the audience can't help but feel that lydia is now not all that important. like everyone else, she's just someone going about her day. i can't remember it verbatim now but i remember lydia mentioned something about how sound affects her (idk maybe im remembering wrong) and the odd metronome sounds in the middle of the night creeped me out so much.
very artful film and i adore it so much. definitely worth a rewatch i think and i highly recommend this film to everyone. the acting, cinematography and plot all came together to form a perfectly synergised film which in my opinion, is so full of depth and character.
- j