Cate Blanchett is currently promoting TÁR (which is apparently supposed to be all-caps), and the photos in this post are from her promotional stops in New York. While I don’t know if Cate’s early Oscar campaign will be in any way successful, I appreciate the fact that she’s playing the game and giving us some interesting fashion. Cate in full Oscar-campaign mode is always pretty glorious. I also enjoy Film Festival Cate, that’s another great version.

I read through this Indie Wire interview with TÁR director Todd Field and Cate and I learned more about the film. Apparently, it’s a story about cancel culture in a way – it’s an examination of power and structures of power and the backlash against those with power? Here are some quotes from Cate:

Cate’s caution with how she speaks about issues: “I’ve always been cautious about interfacing with the media. I’ve always been very private. There are not a lot of places where you can have nuanced debate about complicated issues. We haven’t even processed what’s called “The Black Lives Matter #MeToo Moment.” What do you mean? It’s not over. We’re still living through this. A huge part of that process is rage. If it’s channeled correctly — if heard and understood and listened to — rage is a really, really important transitional tool and is totally understandable. I feel like we’re in a moment of profound transition, which is terrifying for some people. But we’re used to the churn of change because we’re making things.

Judging people through a moral framework: “I think there are certain behaviors that are intolerable. But when it comes to things like banning books, you have to understand the context under which these books were written, even if they may not be your taste. You may find them offensive, but let’s talk about why. I’m much more interested in igniting the conversation with people who think differently than shutting the conversation down.

Her early film career: “It sounds a bit like a copout to say that it was a different landscape, but it was that. I came to making films very late. In dog years, my career was almost over as an actress. My first role was when I was 25. I didn’t expect it to continue. I thought I had five years. I thought at 35 that they put you out to pasture as an actress. That’s certainly changed. That’s because women are at the helm more. They’re not the exception anymore. There are a lot of female-driven narratives. I hate that term. I think there are a lot of good women making good sh-t that’s being seen. They’ve always made it.

[From IndieWire]

“A huge part of that process is rage. If it’s channeled correctly — if heard and understood and listened to — rage is a really, really important transitional tool and is totally understandable.” Well said. She’s right about how we’re still in the transitional period, we’re still absorbing, learning and experiencing the rage. It’s like the backlash to Me Too – it’s not really a backlash, because that would assume that Me Too was ever fully processed. Me Too didn’t make many structural changes to the systems of power, neither did Black Lives Matter. That’s because neither movement is done – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.