Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Movie Review #357: "Carol" (2015)

Director: Todd Haynes
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes
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In 1950's New York, a young department store clerk named Therese (Rooney Mara) falls for an upper class middle aged woman named Carol (Cate Blanchett), who is currently going through a divorce from her husband Harge (Kyle Chandler). In a time when such a relationship was taboo, Carol may be forced to chose between seeing her young daughter and having a relationship with Therese.

There has been a lot of buzz around "Carol" this year, and now we understand why. It's a movie we had not heard much about until several different awards nominations actually started coming out. It was not a heavily marketed movie, and like many films of recent years which have been nominated for award ceremonies, it deals with a subject that does not have unanimous, universal appeal. The film takes place in the early 1950's, between December 1951 and April 1953. It is a love story about two people who lived in an era that told them that it was not acceptable to love each other because they were both women. Rooney Mara plays Therese, a young department store clerk and aspiring photographer who has a boyfriend, but happens to fall for the older Carol one day when she comes in looking for a doll for her daughter. Carol is an assured woman who knows who she after trying to live a more accepted lifestyle for years. She got married to a man named Harge, played by Kyle Chandler, who knows about her true identity, and the two of them have a daughter named Rindy, played by Kk and Sadie Heim. Their marriage failed partially because Carol was living a lie and was unhappy in her hiding her true self. As an aside to this review, this is one aspect many people still do not understand in life. Getting married and having kids doesn't mean you aren't gay. Being gay is not an action or a choice, it is who you are, and a gay person living in a heterosexual relationship is still gay. Carol's close friend Abby, played by Sarah Paulson, is the only one who was truly there for Carol during the eventual disintegration of her marriage After Carol forgets her gloves at Therese's work station, Therese mails them back to her. From there, Carol wants to thank Therese with lunch, but it quickly becomes more than that as the two begin a blossoming relationship.

"Carol" works so well because Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara have excellent, believable chemistry. Where most movies fail is in its relationships; usually, we don't believe in and don't get invested in two people who clearly look like they are more interested in being anywhere but present together on screen. Here, we root for Carol and Therese to overcome the odds and make it, even in the worst of circumstances. Blanchett, who looks like a modern day Lauren Bacall with her cat-eye glasses and gorgeous red lipstick, gently falls for Therese as they move towards more than just a simple friendship. As much as we've talked about the performance of Cate Blanchett, we should probably note that Rooney Mara has the most screen time. The story is just as much hers if not more so, despite the title. Therese is charming, shy, and exploratory, which clashes but also meshes with Carol's forward nature. These strongly written characters maneuver through love and life's turmoils because of the excellent writing on behalf of screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, and the gorgeous, delicate filming by Todd Haynes. A gorgeous score fills the scenes with an effortlessly flowing grace.

When it comes down to it, "Carol" is, simply put, a beautiful film. Every pieces falls where it needs to for maximum impact. Where others see a long, dragging story, we see character development. While others have complained about its run time and the fact that it is very dramatic, we see a glowing, bustling romance and a series of explorations into the self. The acting is stellar, the music is perfect, and the direction is excellent.

My Rating: 8.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

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