American writer-director Todd Field’s drama TÁR is in many ways a film tailor-made for Limelight readers, much of it playing out as an intimate guided tour behind the scenes of the classical music world, aided by music from the likes of Elgar (the Cello Concerto, echoing the 1998 film about the du Pré sisters, Hilary and Jackie) and Mahler’s Fifth.

Cate Blanchett raises the baton as conductor Lydia Tár in the film TÁR. Photo courtesy of Focus Features

That’s before we get to the extraordinary lead performance from Cate Blanchett as an internationally-revered orchestral conductor named Lydia Tár, though please forgive the understatement. Even by her usual high standards, Blanchett’s acting here is mesmerising, bringing to life a character who is not only charismatic, highly intelligent and passionate about music, but also bafflingly devious and egoistic to the nth degree. It’s a gift of a role that Blanchett throws herself into, almost hypnotising her audience – and without even wielding the baton, at least in the film’s first half.  

And thank heavens for that, because for all this brilliance, the film is far from flawless, often dragging its heels where...