Carol

This morning I saw Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

There's a chronic ache one endures when love is unrequited. A pain detected by others only when looking deep into the afflicted's eyes. Carol (Blanchett), the subject of this film, feels this pain. She is on the verge of divorcing her husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) and is smitten with a young shop girl she met while searching for her daughter's Christmas gift.

As fate would have it, Carol accidentally left her gloves behind at the department store when purchasing said gift, so the shop girl, Therese (Mara) has them sent back to her. To show her gratitude for the gesture, she treats Therese to a fancy lunch and a new friendship is formed.

Meanwhile, Therese is somewhat confused about where she wants life to take her. She has a solid job at the store, but her passion is photography. She has a devoted boyfriend, but another friend likes her and also wants to be with her. Therese has little interest in either of them.

As Carol progresses with her separation, an ex-girlfriend, Abby (Sarah Paulson), helps her deal. But her association with Abby makes Harge believe she's going back to her—though she's not—so he begins proceedings to keep Carol from seeing their daughter. This drives Carol to quickly seek comfort in Therese's friendship and explore where it will go.

Did I mention it's the early 50s? And it's not okay to be an 'out' lesbian in the early 50s?

The whole film centers around this repression, despite the fact Carol seems very comfortable in who she is and makes no apologies for her feelings. It's one of those films where very little happens, yet everything does change.

If you're looking for a fast-paced love story, this is not the film for you, but if you have the cinema patience for quiet scenes, sexual frustration and longing looks, you may find yourself satisfied by its undercurrent.

Cate Blanchett is fantastic as always, as the cold, yet compassionate Carol. Mara didn't impress me as much with her deer-in-headlights glances and wooden dialog delivery, but Kyle Chandler playing against type as a jackass was fun to see.

I'm glad I checked this one off my list, even if it's not as flashy as competing films in this year's Oscar race.

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