Carol left even my highest expectations behind in the dust. A dazzling adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt (1952), the film is a thoroughly grounded romance, lacking any unnecessary subplots, sentiment, or melodrama. More important, and unlike the other big queer film this season, The Danish Girl, it ends with affirmation, joy, and a rapturous sense of hope.
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett are pitch-perfect as the lovers, fiercely aware of social norms but flagrantly challenging their constraints. Digging deep into every nuance and subtlety, Blanchett is the more entrancing of the two, performing as a goddess in a role only she could fully realize. Her striking beauty aside, she has a rich presence and rare command of the screen as we watch her character confront adversity with not an ounce of vulnerability. Pairing her with less fervent energy, Mara plays the less entrancing character, which makes it more difficult to compare the performances. Less of a socialite and more obviously introverted, Mara blends in with the scenery, immediately recognizable as a wallflower in a culture that doesn't approve of her desires. Caught up in her sudden romance, she ekes out strength from her quiet character and, as the film follows what we might call her "coming of age" plot, takes the reins of the movie. The magical chemistry between the two women is hypnotizing.
No less hypnotic, the film's craftsmanship rivals even some of the most breathtaking films this year. Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) has done it again with his signature attention to detail, creating a period world that is at once stark reality and timeless fantasy. He mirrors the complex performances in lighting subtleties and richly layered set pieces. Cinematographer Edward Lachman (The Virgin Suicides, Erin Brockovich) follows the romance with a fluid camera and, in turns, passionate and compassionate attention to its players, lingering over their faces as the world turns around them to catch every tiny reaction. The editing is no less masterful, perfectly blending the characters into their world and drawing our attention to the most stirring of juxtapositions. Frequent Coen brothers and Spike Jonze collaborator Carter Burwell's score is also worth its salt (I was trying to make that match the book's title, but it's just not working), so pay attention to that as you go along, too.
There's not much more to say. It's beautiful. An absolutely beautiful movie. It's one of those that is, from beginning to end, a transcendent pleasure to watch again and again. And I don't usually say that about romances.
IMDb: Carol
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