Lydia Tár reprimanding her “woke” student for his rejection of Bach’s music naturally made its rounds on my side of the internet. Superficially, there is always a savage enjoyment in watching a “countercultural” takedown, especially from someone in a position of authority, but that certainly shouldn’t be the only reason why one might want to watch a movie like Tár. Indeed, if that’s what you were looking for during the almost 3-hour duration, you would likely be disappointed.

For me, however, I was far more intrigued by Cate Blanchett’s delivery. Almost nothing seems to escape the sad trend of modern movies where plot is poor and dialogue is oversimplistic, but Blanchett’s performance in delivering Lydia’s articulate reproach was what really caught my attention. And I’m glad it did because the film—by and large—was worth the watch, and actually explored some deep philosophical ideas that I feel are worth writing about. Although, as I will explain, it didn’t quite explore them thoroughly enough.