Tár director Todd Field looked visibly unhappy during the Oscars ceremony. Every time the camera fell on him, he had a scowl on his face. Maybe it’s because his acclaimed film entered the night with six nominations but came away with nothing. Or maybe it’s something else, such as it possibly marking the end of his career?
Field spoke with Cinema Scope about his latest movie, only his third following 2001’s In the Bedroom and 2006’s Little Children, and talked about what it means to put everything of yourself into a project. While the rewards are great, so is the emotional toll.
“There’s a real challenge in making a film of any size. It’s not for the faint of heart,” he said. “I wish I was cut out for different stuff because I probably wouldn’t make more films. It takes a great deal out of me to make a film; I don’t know that I’ll ever make another one.”
This led to Field being asked whether Tár could be his last movie, and the director responded “Yes, I think so…I didn’t think about it until just now. It’s highly likely.”
Field doesn’t completely shut the door, however. It’s all about the creative and physical impact filmmaking has on him, and he may continue shooting commercials and working alongside writing partner Jonathan Franzen.
“But if something is really yours, and really matters—and it had better matter, for the length of time it takes to make a film—you have to give it everything,” Field said. “And as you get older, you realize how valuable time is, there’s only so much time in that hourglass. I’m not in my twenties or thirties anymore—I’ll be 60 in year and a half. You start thinking about these things.”
It’s pretty depressing to have both Field and Tarantino talking about the end of their careers at the same time. In the case of both, let’s hope they continue to have the creative spark and the studio support to make the movies they want to make, in the way they want to make them.
