Carol

featured_carol

Carol

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy, John Magaro

Directed by: Todd Haynes
Written by: Phyllis Nagy (screenplay), Patricia Highsmith (novel)

Rating: R
Genre: Romance
Release Date: 2015

Carol is a slow movie, but I was never bored while watching it. I could see other people not having the patience to watch it, but if you are in the mood to watch two women in the 1950s start a romance with one another while trying to do it away from disapproving eyes, the acting and direction is spectacular.

secondary_carol

Therese is a twenty-something department-store clerk in 1950s Manhattan. She lives with her boyfriend who is planning a trip to Europe together, but she keeps making up excuses to put off the trip since she knows, but hasn’t admitted to herself, that the relationship is over. She is also not thrilled with her job, but not sure what to do with her life. She’s in a period of transition when she meets Carol, who has come into the department store to buy a Christmas present for her daughter. Therese noticed Carol from across the room even before Carol notices her and asks for her help. Carol is married, but wants a divorce. Her husband still loves her, does not want a divorce, and only recently realized that his wife is a lesbian, even though she had a long relationship with her friend Abby that was more than friendly. As Carol and Therese start a relationship, Carol’s husband becomes increasingly hurt and threatens to take away their child from her in the divorce unless she gets counseling to “fix” her behavior.

Since the movie is set in the 1950s and covers the topic of a gay romance where it cannot be talked about in those times, I believe that is where a lot of the slowness of the movie stems from. There is not tons of talking. There are a lot of longing and knowing looks. Carol is also more of a talker than Therese, who is more comfortable behind a camera taking pictures. Cate Blanchett is fantastic as usual. She is so elegant and graceful as Carol, even when she’s extremely mad about what is happening to her life and why no one will let her be happy. Rooney Mara says so much with a look on her face, which is good because she does not talk much in the movie until she has a revelation later on.

The movie had to film in Cincinnati, Ohio and use some of the older looking buildings to make it look like 1950s Manhattan. I thought they did an excellent job of making it look like I imagined New York City would look then. Also, the clothes and hats the entire movie were outstanding.

The movie was great to look at as well as watching the acting. There was not too much to the plot. It was a lot of set up and then ended on a hint of what could happen, but it was a nice little movie. I think it would have been a better one with more of a plot after all that set up.

Grade: B

4 Comments

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.