Cate Blanchett has defended her film “Tár” after intense criticism from the famous conductor Marin Alsop.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, the actor said she respects Alsop, a “pioneer of a musician”, but noted that her own take on the film differs from the conductor’s view – which was overwhelmingly negative.
Alsop had told The Sunday Times earlier this week that ‘Tár’, a story about a world-famous conductor accused of sexually assaulting female victims, is ‘anti-woman’.
“I was offended: I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian,” Alsop told the UK outlet, adding that she took particular offense at the unfavorable portrayal of female leadership.
“Getting the chance to portray a woman in that role and make her an abuser — for me, that was heartbreaking,” she said.
Alsop is mentioned by name in the film and – as The Sunday Times noted – bears some similarities to Blanchett’s character in terms of professional background and lesbian identity.
“So many superficial aspects of Tár seemed to match my own personal life,” she said.
“,”type”:”video”,”meta”:{“author”:”Focus Features”,”author_url”:”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU4SM3j_9TNWaSu8KdGV50g”,”cache_age”:86400,”description”:”If you want to dance the mask, you must service the composer.\n \nWatch the new trailer for Todd Field’s TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett – in select theaters October 7.\n\nDirector/Writer: Todd Field\nProducers: Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan, Scott Lambert\nCast: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, and Mark Strong\nStory: From producer-writer-director Todd Field comes TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett as the iconic musician Lydia Tár. TÁR examines the changing nature of power, its impact and durability in our modern world.\n\nGet Tickets Now: https://www.tarthefilmtickets.com/\n\nhttps://www.focusfeatures.com/tar\nhttps://twitter.com/tarmovie\nhttps://www.facebook.com/tarmovie\nhttps://www.instagram.com/tarmovie”,”options”:{“_cc_load_policy”:{“label”:”Closed captions”,”value”:false},”_end”:{“label”:”End on”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”value”:””},”_start”:{“label”:”Start from”,”placeholder”:”ex.: 11, 1m10s”,”value”:””},”click_to_play”:{“label”:”Hold load & play until clicked”,”value”:false}},”provider_name”:”YouTube”,”thumbnail_height”:720,”thumbnail_url”:”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Na6gA1RehsU/maxresdefault.jpg”,”thumbnail_width”:1280,”title”:”TÁR – Official Trailer [HD] – In Select Theaters October 7″,”type”:”video”,”url”:”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na6gA1RehsU”,”version”:”1.0″},”flags”:[],”enhancements”:{},”fullBleed”:false,”options”:{“theme”:”news”,”device”:”desktop”,”editionInfo”:{“id”:”us”,”name”:”U.S.”,”link”:”https://www.huffpost.com”,”locale”:”en_US”},”slideshowAd”:{“scriptTags”:[],”otherHtml”:””},”slideshowEndCard”:{“scriptTags”:[],”otherHtml”:””},”isMapi”:false,”isAmp”:false,”isVideoEntry”:false,”isMt”:false,”entryId”:”63c249d6e4b0d6f0ba050fd8″,”entryTagsList”:”movies,cate-blanchett,tár”,”sectionSlug”:”entertainment”,”deptSlug”:”entertainment”,”sectionRedirectUrl”:”https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment”,”subcategories”:”us-news”,”isWide”:false,”headerOverride”:null,”noVideoAds”:false,”disableFloat”:false,”isNative”:false,”commercialVideo”:{“provider”:”custom”,”site_and_category”:”us.entertainment”,”package”:null},”isHighline”:false,”vidibleConfigValues”:{“cid”:”60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf”,”overrides”:{“front_page_top_videos”:{“desktop”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”mobileweb”:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”},”top_media”:{“desktop”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”mobile”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”iphone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”ipad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”androidphone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”androidtablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”anthology”:{“desktop”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iphone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”ipad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”androidphone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”androidtablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”},”content”:{“desktop”:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”mobile”:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”iphone”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”ipad”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”androidphone”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”androidtablet”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”}},”playerUpdates”:{“5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8″:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″,”5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f”:”60b8e355cdd90620331ba185″,”58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895″:”60b64316b171b7444beafdb2″,”58b74698f78ced31417819ae”:”60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52″,”58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1″:”60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5″,”58cff690d85a100b9992bc39″:”60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba”,”58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d”:”60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6″,”58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180″:”60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66″,”58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7″:”60b643c82e76be41f112735c”,”592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd”:”60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c”,”5b35266b158f855373e28256″:”60b64354b171b7444beaff4d”,”5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a”:”60b64440b171b7444beb040b”,”5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9″:”60b646102e76be41f1127ffc”,”5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f”:”60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147″,”5c477987a6b48b35f164773d”:”60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee”,”5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371″:”60b8e747cdd90620331bb861″,”5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2″:”60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b”,”5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6″:”60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9″,”58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321″:”60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c”,”58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3″:”60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0″,”58cff8eccebcea42931e0436″:”60d0e005b627221e9d819d44″,”592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b”:”60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf”,”58cff72fd85a100b9992c112″:”60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da”,”56b4d34fe4b022697697c400″:”60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443″,”60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d”:”60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81″}},”connatixConfigValues”:{“defaultPlayer”:”ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b”,”clickToPlayPlayer”:”d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0″,”videoPagePlayer”:”f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145″,”verticalPlayer”:”e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065″},”customAmpComponents”:[],”ampAssetsUrl”:”https://amp.assets.huffpost.com”,”videoTraits”:null,”positionInUnitCounts”:{“buzz_head”:{“count”:0},”buzz_body”:{“count”:0},”buzz_bottom”:{“count”:0}},”positionInSubUnitCounts”:{“article_body”:{“count”:8},”before_you_go_slideshow”:{“count”:0}},”connatixCountsHelper”:{“count”:1},”buzzfeedTracking”:{“context_page_id”:”63c249d6e4b0d6f0ba050fd8″,”context_page_type”:”buzz”,”destination”:”huffpost”,”mode”:”desktop”,”page_edition”:”en-us”},”tags”:[{“name”:”Movies”,”slug”:”movies”,”links”:{“relativeLink”:”topic/movies”,”permalink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/movies”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/movies”},”relegenceSubjectId”:981358,”department”:{“name”:”Entertainment”,”slug”:”entertainment”},”section”:{“title”:”Entertainment”,”slug”:”entertainment”},”topic”:{“title”:”Movies”,”slug”:”movies”,”overridesSectionLabel”:false},”url”:”https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment/topic/movies”},{“name”:”cate blanchett”,”slug”:”cate-blanchett”,”links”:{“relativeLink”:”topic/cate-blanchett”,”permalink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/cate-blanchett”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/cate-blanchett”},”department”:{“name”:”Entertainment”,”slug”:”entertainment”},”section”:{“title”:”Entertainment”,”slug”:”entertainment”},”topic”:{“title”:”Cate Blanchett”,”slug”:”cate-blanchett”,”overridesSectionLabel”:false},”url”:”https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment/topic/cate-blanchett”},{“name”:”tár”,”slug”:”tár”,”links”:{“relativeLink”:”topic/tár”,”permalink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/t%C3%A1r”,”mobileWebLink”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/t%C3%A1r”},”url”:”https://www.huffpost.com/topic/t%C3%A1r”}],”cetUnit”:”buzz_body”,”bodyAds”:[“
\r\n\r\n”,”
\r\n\r\n”,”
\r\n\r\n”],”adCount”:0}}”>
However, Blanchett offered her own interpretation of the film in response to Alsop.
“It’s a meditation on power, and power is genderless,” the actor said.
Blanchett said she – along with “Tár” director Todd Field – wanted to spark a lively conversation and that the circumstances surrounding her character are “entirely fictional.”
“I’ve looked at so many different conductors, but I’ve also looked at novelists and visual artists and musicians of all stripes,” said Blanchett. “It’s a very non-literal movie.”
The actor said a man in her role couldn’t convey the “corrupt nature” of power “in such a nuanced way.”
“I think power is a corrupting force, regardless of one’s gender. I think it affects us all,” she said.
The critically acclaimed film earned Blanchett a Golden Globe for her role, and the film is expected to do well at the Academy Awards in March.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Online Sexual Assault Hotline or the The National Sexual Violence Resource Center website.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
