Martin Scorsese Offers High Praise For Todd Field's Tár

There are certain filmmakers who become so celebrated for their artistry that they come to define the art itself; Martin Scorsese is one of those directors. The helmer of such classics as "Mean Streets," Taxi Driver," "Goodfellas," "The Age of Innocence," "Gangs of New York," and "The Wolf of Wall Street" has made a career out of exploring unsettling themes while moving in and out genres to challenge himself. Scorsese certainly has a prolific output, but then there are some auteurs with a smaller yet equally brilliant oeuvre, such as Todd Field.

Field has directed "In the Bedroom," "Little Children," and his latest work, "Tár," which was one of the best dramatic films of 2022. While the lion's share of attention has been given to the lead performance from Cate Blanchett, Field's directing has also been praised, with Adam Graham of Detroit News stating, "Tár is both Field and Blanchett's orchestra, and they both get to share the title of maestro." 

From one great director to the next, Martin Scorsese has now offered some high praise for the searing drama. Here is what the legendary filmmaker had to say.

"Tár" is primarily a psychological drama that takes a deep dive into power dynamics in careers and relationships. These heavy themes have frequently appeared in some of Martin Scorsese's films over the decades as well. At the ceremony for the 2022 New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Scorsese presented Todd Field with the Best Director award and shared his praise for the feature, labeling Field's work on the film as "a real high-wire act" (via Variety).

The "Kundun" filmmaker also stated, "For so long now, so many of us see films that pretty much let us know where they're going." He further elaborated, "I mean, they take us by the hand and, even if it's disturbing at times, sort of comfort us along the way that it will be all okay by the end." The director called this audience conditioning "insidious" and ultimately contagious, offering easy paths to crowd-pleasing storytelling. Scorsese then contextualized what it was about "Tár" that offered what he saw as a new hope for challenging art.

He concluded by describing the movie as lifting cinema's "dark days," observing, "The clouds lifted when I experienced Todd's film, 'Tár.' What you've done, Todd, is that the very fabric of the movie you created doesn't allow this."