Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson
Carol
Director: Todd Haynes
Rating: 4.5/5
movies of autumn 2015 and has now been released on DVD & Blu-ray. If you did not see this film while it was in the cinema, then it is a movie that you really need to check out.
Carol saw Cate Blanchett take on the title role as she reunites with filmmaker Todd Haynes for the first time since I'm Not There back in 2007. This is Haynes' first film since the Boy Dylan inspired project and it is great to see him back.
A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Mara) is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens.
While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband (Chandler) threatens her competence as a mother when Carol's involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Paulson) comes to light. As Carol leaves the comfort of home to travel with Therese, an internal journey of self-discovery coincides with her new sense of space.
I love it when films live up to all of their hype and praise - so often acclaimed movies can be a little disappointing; Carol is not one of them. If you are looking for great drama, a compelling, story, and strong and well-crafted central characters, then look no further as Carol is the film for you.
Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, Carol is a beautiful story of love, desire, passion and loss, and Blanchett and Mara capture the loneliness and the longing to be part of something special that drives these two women forward.
We have been treated to a series of great female characters last year and Carol Aird and Therese Belivet were just two of them as they capture a passion that we did not see too much of last year.
This is a movie that draws you in and will touch your heart and your soul. This may be a story that is set decades ago, but it is a story that will resonate with audiences and is very much in the here and now.
Blanchett delivers another tour de force performance in the central role. She is captivating and her character truly absorbing as she is a woman who is trapped between two lives.
Mara delivers an equally touching performance as Therese, a young women who is still trying to figure out who she is and where she fits into the world. Carol marks the first time that Blanchett and Mara have worked together and I hope that they share the screen again in the future. There is a spiritual bond between the characters of Carol and Therese - something that goes beyond the physical desire of love - and Blanchett and Mara capture this so beautifully.
Haynes has crafted a truly magnificent movie that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. He has captured the look and the feel of the period wonderfully - it is a truly stylish looking film from start to finish.
Carol is a touching, powerful, devastating, and intelligent love story that is very reminiscent of movies such as Brief Encounter. For me, Carol is a truly unmissable film that sees Blanchett and Mara on terrific form.
This is a true gem of a movie and I wish films like this came around more often!!!
Carol is out on DVD and Blu-ray now.
Tagged in Cate Blanchett Rooney Mara Todd Haynes