'Carol' (15)

****

A chance meeting between a shop assistant and a glamorous customer soon develops into a forbidden love affair.

How refreshing it is to see a film about gay women that refrains from exploiting their sex or sexuality. How refreshing it is to see a film wherein women look out for other women, praising each other and supporting each other; where female friendships are shown as something meaningful and precious, as opposed to flimsy and empty as many mainstream films would have us believe. This is a love story, but without the booming declarations of love and desire that we might be used to, instead focusing on the subtlety of a blossoming romance, from the awkwardness of the first meetings, to the exchanged glances over breakfast and beyond. And it’s beautiful. Our two central lovers, Therese (Rooney Mara) and Carol (Cate Blanchett) do not live out their love story as though they are on film, they live it as though they are going about their unremarkable lives and happen to fall in love. Their story is understated, subtle. There are scenes in which nothing much really happens, except that we see the two women fall further and further in love, the pair relaxing into one another’s company. It feels true to real life, and is exquisitely observed through director Todd Hayne’s lens.

Mara and Blanchett are excellent in the roles, Mara as the uncertain, young Therese, and Blanchett as the beautiful and enigmatic Carol, who is enduring painful divorce proceedings from her exasperated husband (Kyle Chandler). Whilst Blanchett is undoubtedly the centre of the story, a glamorous and confident woman, it is Mara who offers the heart and soul to the story. As with the rest of the story, hers is a muted, delicate performance, her eyes and fleeting hand gestures offering as much emotion as any verbal expression. The chemistry between the two leads is undeniable and charming, each scene building upon their relationship with perfect realisation.

Alongside the performances, the whole appearance of the film is equally ravishing. Hayne’s decision to shoot on 35mm film gives the film an authentic 1950s feel, the blurry edges to faces adding to the allure of the film and the love story. The costumes are beautiful too, and each scene is brilliantly dressed in contextual pieces, from the children’s toy department at the beginning, to the streets with their cars and taxis.

This film will not be for everyone: it is slow, quiet, and there is no real story arch, just the continuing affections between two women. I would argue that it is perhaps overly long, but then maybe some of the chemistry between the two leads would have been lost with further editing. Funny in places, tragic in others, this is a moving story, a true study of a relationship, that makes for excellent viewing.