Carol
17/12/15 Filed in: Cinema
I've been to the cinema twice this week, which is unusual. On Tuesday we saw Carol, with Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. The reviews have been very good and rightly so. This is a beautiful film that charts a relationship between Carol, a married woman in a failed relationship, and Therese Belivet, a young shop assistant who Carol meets by chance while shopping. The film is set in the 1950s, when such a relationship would have broken quite a few taboos.
Their first meeting generates feelings within both women. For Carol, who has already experienced a relationship with another woman, the feelings are familiar. For Therese, it's a completely new experience that at first she has difficulty coming to terms with, trying at one point to understand by asking her boyfriend if he has ever had feelings for another man. As you might expect, the boyfriend relationship goes quickly downhill from this point.
With her marriage becoming more and more acrimonious Carol asks Theres if she would like to go away with her, and at this point Therese's feelings are such that she readily accepts the invitation. It is during this trip that their love for each other is fully expressed while Carol's husband is meanwhile plotting to make life extremely difficult for her. The trip ends badly and the two women separate, not because of any falling out between them, but because Carol wants to protect the younger woman and deal with issues in her marital relationship.
Their first meeting generates feelings within both women. For Carol, who has already experienced a relationship with another woman, the feelings are familiar. For Therese, it's a completely new experience that at first she has difficulty coming to terms with, trying at one point to understand by asking her boyfriend if he has ever had feelings for another man. As you might expect, the boyfriend relationship goes quickly downhill from this point.
With her marriage becoming more and more acrimonious Carol asks Theres if she would like to go away with her, and at this point Therese's feelings are such that she readily accepts the invitation. It is during this trip that their love for each other is fully expressed while Carol's husband is meanwhile plotting to make life extremely difficult for her. The trip ends badly and the two women separate, not because of any falling out between them, but because Carol wants to protect the younger woman and deal with issues in her marital relationship.
This film is a slow-burner, as they say, but that is in keeping with the way that the relationship between the two women grows. It's beautifully filmed and both actors must surely be in line for Oscar nominations.
Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian summarises the film thus:
"The writing and performances are superb, the production design and costumes by Judy Becker and Sandy Powell tremendous. And the effect is intoxicating."
Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian summarises the film thus:
"The writing and performances are superb, the production design and costumes by Judy Becker and Sandy Powell tremendous. And the effect is intoxicating."