Carol

Carol is about the relationship between Carol, an older lesbian going through a divorce and Therese, a young naive shop girl with dreams of photography. Also it’s in the 1950’s so being a lesbian is generally a bit difficult.

Director Todd Haynes did a wonderful job with this story. The cinematography is stunning and it’s a beautiful representation of the 1950’s. This film is sumptuous and detailed and scenes of emotion are expertly shot.  The sex scene is also brilliant. I’ve seen so many exploitative lesbian sex scenes so it was nice to see one that was romantic and also well blocked.

One of the many things I loved about Carol was the performances. Mara and Blanchett are different in their performances in a way that complement each other incredibly. Mara has always been great at subtly. Her quiet, nuanced performance is a great counterpoint to Blanchett’s showier character.

And thank god an actress as talented as Cate Blanchett played Carol. It would have been easy for this character to come across as a one-note predatory older lesbian character similar to those of various exploitation films. But instead of coming off as predatory and one-note, Blanchett’s Carol is exceptionally layered. Blanchett disappears into this role and creates a full and believable character.

There is much to be said about how the relationship between Therese and Carol plays out. It is beautiful. The subtly and nuance of this budding relationship is both a treat to watch and a more accurate depiction of a developing queer relationship at this time. Heterosexual couples are allowed to be overt with their affections. But for queer couples? Their flirtations are required to be much less overt, almost as if they’re speaking in code.

Apparently, some heterosexuals who saw this didn’t like this. They thought it was too subtle or oblique. But that’s their problem.

Everything about Carol is good. The only complaint I have about the movie is that it failed to win any Oscars. That’s homophobia in action, right there.

Carol is a beautiful movie that appealed to both the lesbian in me and the film snob in me. Anchored by great performances and a great director, this is one of few mainstream lesbian movie in which the lesbians get to be happy. It was nice to immerse myself in a well-made film which didn’t end with me in tears because the queer characters I grew to love died or otherwise met a tragic end. Thank god for Carol

Overall rating: 9.6/10

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