We had one film release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Tár

Tár is actor-turned-director Todd Field’s third feature film, his first in 16 years. The film stars Cate Blanchett as world renowned composer/conductor whose ego gets in the way of her own success. The film co-stars Noémie Merlant as her assistant and Nina Hoss as her wife. The film premiered to great acclaim at the Venice International Film Festival where it was nominated for both the Golden Lion and the Queer Lion while Blanchett took the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. With that much acclaim, it has to be an Oscar contender, right?

Word is it’s very much an art film and the Academy hasn’t always embraced art films. Field’s prior two efforts, In the Bedroom and Little Children were more traditional narratives, so he was able to secure some hefty recognition for them. In the Bedroom earned five Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay along with nominations for three of its cast members, Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek in lead and Marisa Tomei in supporting. Five years later, Little Children didn’t quite make the Best Picture slate, but it did get another Adapted Screenplay nomination as well as two more for the cast. Kate Winslet in the lead and Jackie Earle Haley in support. That marks 5 nominations in the span of two films. He is certain to score at least one more for Blanchett who is being talked about already for a third win, but the film may also show up in screenplay. Beyond that, I don’t think it has a lot of much higher prospects.