There’s a large part of me that is an absolute sicko, because I feel as if Todd Field movies just speak to my soul. Not that I relate to the characters, or that I see myself in any of them, but tonally they are absolutely what I seek out1. Field just has this way of taking super dark and harrowing material and transforming it into something so powerful, compelling, and beautiful; something many similar artists have tried and failed greatly.
I think the thing he does is just take such a small, isolated story, and make it feel so spectacular. Now, the grandiose of classical music in Tár, nor the headlining incident in In the Bedroom should be categorized as small in terms of the reality they are set in, but their individual stories feel so concentrated that you, as a spectator, feel that you too are so intimately wrapped up in the specific lives of the characters at play. And he has been incredibly well rewarded for it, going a perfect three for three in writing nominations for his (shockingly only) three films, with two getting best picture noms and him tacking on another for directing for Tár. He is not some dark horse, he is just someone who picks his shots2, and while yes, sixteen years between films was brutal, it was well worth the wait. Hopefully, it won’t be another sixteen before the next one - if so, he can just rake in that commercial money.
To that extent, I have also watched Manchester by the Sea multiple times.
He probably also has some kick back in royalties for helping invent Big League Chew.