Cate Blanchett on the “reductive” comparison of ‘TÁR’ and ‘Carol’

While Cate Blanchett happily accepts the icon status she’s received from fans of the LGBTQ+ community, there are certain comparisons between the queer characters of “TÁR” and “Carol” that bother her.

At the 38th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which concluded with “TÁR” director Todd Field presenting the 2023 Outstanding Performer of the Year Award, the current Best Actress nominee and two-time Academy Award winner said, “I the other day he did an interview on “TÁR” and the interviewer, a man, said: “You seem to draw a line in predatory lesbians”. Excuse me?” After it became clear that the reporter was indeed comparing the disgraced Lydia Tár to her title role in “Carol,” as a 1950s housewife who begins an affair with a younger woman, Blanchett questioned whether the reporter had even seen the 2015 film directed by Todd Haynes. .

The actress previously said that she thinks “Carol” had a lasting impact in part because it featured “a positive ending to a same-sex relationship,” which is a comparison to her role in Field’s 2022 film. The epic downfall of a music genius accused of sexual misconduct seemed to be “such a reductive way of looking at that story and that beautiful, beautiful movie.”

Blanchett described the ending of “Carol” as “a lesson in ambiguity,” saying, “To my way of thinking (when) Rooney’s (Mara’s) character, Therese, comes back to try to find Carol, but they just see each other in the crowded area. room. And we knew it had to be incredibly full of possibilities.” The star, who also executive produced the film, mentioned that the Oscar-nominated screenplay, written by Phyllis Nagy, included a later scene specifically about the future of Carol and Therese’s relationship. “It meant the road wasn’t going to be easy, but it was free,” Blanchett said.

‘Sing’; ‘TAR’

Everett Collection

As for ‘TÁR’, the actress says the film’s reception has ‘exceeded our wildest dreams’ and says there is ‘no right or wrong way to watch the film. (…) When you go back and see it a second or third time, you pick up other different elements.” The two-time Best Director worked with Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón on the upcoming Apple TV+ series “Disclaimer,” and the actress recalled their first conversation about the current Best Picture nominee. “He said, ‘I saw it three times. I saw it once and I was blown away,” said Blanchett, doing her best impression of the Mexican filmmaker. “For the second time, I was envious. And the third time I was like, ‘How the hell did they do that?'”

However, Blanchett, as she did before with “Carol”, also offered an interpretation of the “TÁR” ending, which is also ambiguous. “If you want to grow as an artist, you have to fail,” said the actress, once again entering her character’s mind. “And so you burn yourself deep and in a way you start over with a different access point to music.”

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