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Cate Blanchett has defended her new film Tár, calling it “genderless” after it was branded as “anti-woman”.
Written and directed by Todd Field, the film follows the complicated genius conductor of a German orchestra, Lydia Tar, at the height of her career as it all begins to unravel as she faces accusations about her behavior and the darker parts of the life behind her success come to light.
The 53-year-old actress won a Golden Globe award earlier this week for her portrayal of fictitious orchestra conductor Lydia Tár in the film, which is also tipped to be a major Oscar contender.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, American conductor Marin Alsop, 66, said the character “offended” her as a woman, conductor and a lesbian.
“I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian,” she said. “There are so many men – actual, documented men – this film could have been based on but, instead, it puts a woman in the role but gives her all the attributes of those men. That feels anti-woman.”
Addressing Alsop’s criticism on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Blanchett said: “I have the utmost respect for Marin Alsop. She’s a trailblazer of a musician and a conductor. And it’s a very provocative film and it will elicit a lot of very strong responses for people.”
“What [director Todd Field] and I wanted to do was to create a really lively conversation. So, there’s no right or wrong responses to works of art. It’s not a film about conducting, and I think that the circumstances of the character are entirely fictitious.” She added.
She continued: “I looked at so many different conductors, but I also looked at novelists and visual artists and musicians of all stripes. It’s a very non-literal film.”
Blanchett went on to say that Alsop was “entitled to her opinion”, but defended the film from claims that it was offensive to women.
