Ever happened, to a room full of people, everyone glaring at each other but you find a person you looking for and see that she is also looking at you and everything except her is blurred around you? This film starts with a scene exactly like that. A person named Carol sees another person named Therese in a gift shop on Christmas eve. They lock their eyes, and catch a glimpse before they lose each other and lock their eyes again. They didn’t completely know back then but that's the moment they changed their life forever.
Carol is a love story set in the 1950s. A love story between 2 women when it was not a suitable time for women to love one another. The lead character, Carol is a married woman from Newyork with a child whose marriage is ruined partly due to her record with other women. Right now Carol is longing for love and her heart demands something else other than her husband. And that day she meets Therese who is a talented photographer cum student in her early 20s. Despite the age gap they tend to lean towards each other and eventually fall for each other. But tragedy and miseries were lurking behind their fate which was soon to follow their loving journey.
One might say nothing actually happens in the film. Carol and Therese lock eyes, meets in the apartment, talk about things, sense their liking for each other, and decide to go on a vacation. That's basically it. It's a basic meet-love-tragedy story. But the way their eyes are locked, the way the director created the sexual tension between them over a few glances, their mannerism, and small but effective dialogues created a wholly absorbing atmosphere. An atmosphere where an audience will be engulfed completely and will remain in their shared universe for days.
There are reasons that this film has the charisma of grabbing the viewers with its lavish style. It can be seen in director Todd Haynes's previous film. But especially here the cinematographer Edward Lachman captured the bondings and breakings of these two women up close and sensually. And mixing that with the immersing background score by Carter Burwell, one can not think about anything else except for them for the two hours. Films open up with the melancholic tone of love which hints at the ultimate road this film might take and the use of certain scores for pivotal and sensual moments could not be more effective.
And this film would not be possible if the main two characters didn’t play their part to sheer perfection. Cate Blanchett captured the essence of women suffering from marriage and complex hearts whereas Rooney Mara played the role of an innocent but ambitious young girl who is ready to take on the road of love. Their confusion, urge to get to each other, and urgency to make that happen were visible through every frame. Cate Blanchett's character breaks down at one point and delivers a monologue about being herself despite what society wants her to be. That scene alone makes their appearance worthwhile.
In some scenes they did not utter any dialogues, they stared at each other or nodded or heads tilted maybe because they didn’t know what to say or say that might be the cause of a problem but we still seem to understand everything that is needed to say. As Pachino said "The eyes chico, they never lie" was seen here. And Sarah Paulson played a decent supporting character by literally supporting Carol throughout the film.
This film is an adaptation of the book "The Price of Salt". Since I didn’t read the book, I can't honestly say how good is it from page to screen. But as an experience and as far as filmmaking goes, this is definitely a powerful piece of art that can mesmerize viewers with its periodically important themes, a study of love, and a complete experience for the journey of a lifetime.
images are taken from here