dir. by Todd Haynes
There is no way I could possibly do this justice. I'm going to try anyway.
Rooney Mara is Therese. Therese works at a toy store, but pursues photography on the side, observing lives due to the emptiness of her own. Cate Blanchett is Carol. She appears at the toy store. She has recently divorced her husband, a man who will do anything to get her back. They meet. There is an immediate attraction. One mistake leads to another meeting, and then another. It becomes love, but this is a time when such love is rarely understood. Indeed, Carol is a period piece, but it's one which feels understated. The period is inconspicuous, building atmosphere and allowing the core conflict, and yet the exact date is uncertain. Gramophones exist less as a period reminder than as an extension of the core romance, cars and clothes are of the era yet feel modern. It's a period piece, and yet it doesn't have the character of one.
Instead, this film is a portrait of love, both at the time and long before and long after. It's a portrait filled with nuance, one which embodies the exhilaration of falling in love while also conveying the uncertainty which comes from Carol's situation, from the time they live in, and from the intertwining situations which complicate the relationship. For both Therese and Carol, the relationship is a source of fulfilment, but this fulfilment is fraught with difficulty as a consequence of the time and also of Carol's difficult situation. While the romance is essential to the film, and indeed may be its most important aspect, it's intertwined with the narrative of Carol's own family issues, Therese's personal growth, and, importantly, with the sexual politics of the era. Not one of these aspects is any less than impeccable.
Director Todd Haynes is a master of visual storytelling, framing the actors centrally but viewing them through an almost dreamlike lens, frequently in an indirect manner which is akin to gazing through a window at another life. It's intimate yet distant, often incorporating the scene in great depth. As a result, when the camera is focused solely on one of the leads, it's something significant, and it's herein that the film derives some of its great meaning. The leads are often viewed from behind an object, or another person, or right around a corner, which combined with the desaturated palette and dreary weather emphasizes these women's lonely existence. Both Mara and Blanchett give incredible performances, capturing their characters' fascination with the other while also radiantly presenting their characters' thoughts as much through their faces and visible actions as through the phenomenal script and the beautiful score.
The dialogue in Carol is extraordinary. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, the screenplay is unbelievable. Much of the film's strength, even considering the excellent cinematography and direction, is in fact in the writing, as this script, one about a single relationship which is viewed consecutively through at least three different lenses. The intimacy of the direction is only compounded by the sensitivity of the script, and the combination of these two elements results in something that is wholly, wonderfully, incredibly engrossing. In the end, it also results in emotional evocation on an extraordinary level, knowing when to indulge in the pleasures of new love but also when to hit hard with the conflicts which hold this love back.
I'm not sure if I've fully conveyed how utterly wonderful Carol is. This is an incredible film, one that needs to be seen, and moreover to be felt, to be truly comprehended. It's effortless in its craftsmanship and poignant in its themes, but most importantly it's utterly captivating in every aspect of its existence. It's a film that is perhaps perfect, or at least something resembling perfection, in that its many intertwining aspects are all possessing of such excellence. I care about what happens here, and in the end, Carol left me speechless, knowing that, perhaps, going in depth cannot do this incredible work justice. There are no words.
10/10
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