Tag Archives: The Price of Salt

Carol (2015)

Carol review

written by Souranath Banerjee

An unexpected love affair that blossoms against all the odds.

My Ratings: 4/5.

Reportedly the film Carol had a 10-minute standing ovation at its 2015 Cannes Film Festival premiere!

carol-poster1And why not? Based on the romance novel “The Price of Salt” by Patricia Highsmith, Carol is one of the most visually pleasing love story of recent times.

Rooney Mara (though looking unbelievably different, she was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), who plays an aspiring photographer in this film named Therese Belivet, and when she meets Cate Blanchett, the unhappily married Carol Aird – they instantly fall for each other.

A young girl attracted to a married older woman who openly seduces her, an impulsive spark of romance that makes their lives both volatile and euphoric.

carol-poster4A lesbian love affair, a liaison between two people most unexpected of falling in love!

The story seems pretty straightforward though but the execution is what that makes the film a stunner.

Masterfully directed by Todd Haynes (I was already a fan of his Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.), and shot fantastically by Edward Lachman mostly using reflections and images through glasses and window panes.

But the real charisma of this film is nothing else than the magnetic chemistry between Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. They have successfully portrayed the true bliss of two people falling in love, the purity of their feelings, the infatuation, the physical bonding, the carol-poster5
despair in separation, and the longing for each other’s company.  

Then, Kyle ChandlerSarah PaulsonJohn Magaro and Jake Lacy all synced into their roles just perfectly. 

The realistic and appealing period-look of the film is said to be taken from numerous photographs and paintings, periodicals and film stills, all collected by Director Todd Haynes as reference for the entire team, specially for Judy Becker (Production Designer) and Jesse Rosenthal (Art Director).

Carol is one of those rare colorful films that makes you believe in simplicity, and the immense power of filmmaking as well.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com