Cate Blanchett defends her new movie Tar on allegations of being “anti-women”.
The 53-year-old actor won a Golden Globe earlier this week for his portrayal of fictitious conductor Lydia Tár in what is also predicted to be a major Oscar contender.
Tar It follows Blanchett’s character at the peak of a successful music career before accusations about her behavior and dark past surface.
In a recent interview with Sunday Timescriticized the lead female conductor Marin Alsop, who is mentioned in the movie. Tar amid suggestions that the character was inspired by her own career.
“I was offended as a woman, offended as a conductor, offended as a lesbian,” she said. “There are a lot of men – real, documented men – this movie could have been based on but instead it puts a woman in the role but gives her all the traits of those men. It feels anti-female.
“Having the opportunity to portray a woman in this role and make her an abuser? For me, that was heartbreaking,” he continued. “I think all feminists should be offended by these kinds of portrayals, because this isn’t really about conductors, is it? It’s about women as leaders in our society.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Thursday (January 12th), Blanchett responded to Alsop’s criticism.
“I have great respect for Marin Alsop. “He is a pioneer as a musician and conductor.” “And it’s a very provocative movie and it’s going to have a very strong reaction for people.
“What [director Todd Field] and what I wanted to do was create a really lively conversation. So there are no right or wrong reactions to works of art. It’s not a directing movie, and I think the circumstances of the character are purely fictitious.
He continued: “I looked at many different conductors, but I also looked at novelists, visual artists, and musicians of all kinds. This is a very unrealistic movie.”
Blanchett went on to say that Alsop “had the right to her own opinion”, but defended the film against allegations that it was offensive to women.
“He is absolutely right in his opinion. But this is a meditation on power and power is genderless,” the actor said. “It’s a meditation on power and the corrupting nature of power, and I think it doesn’t just happen in cultural circles.
“I mean, he could have been a master architect or the head of a big bank company.”
He added: “You wouldn’t be able to talk about the corrupting nature of power as subtly as Todd Field as a filmmaker if it had a man at its centre, because we certainly understand what that looks like.
“I think power is a corrupting force, regardless of one’s gender. I think it affects us all.”
Additional reporting by PA