Carol

The hardest thing people battle as they age is loneliness and complacency with the way life worked out.  In no film is this idea more prevalent than in Todd Haynes latest feature Carol.  Carol revolves around housewife and socialite named Carol (Cate Blanchett) who happens to meet a young woman named Therese (Rooney Mara) while buying a present for her daughter Rindy.  What follows is a relationship that mirrors one that a mother may have with her daughter.  The mother daughter dynamic however is a front for the sub culture of women who happen to be homosexual and in the closet.  Carol’s involvement blooms from the fact that she left her gloves at the New York department store where Therese was working.  Throughout their romance Carol is also involved in a deceptively bitter custody battle with her ex-husband Hadge (Kyle Chandler) who is very much still in love with her.  This piece of Carol’s life provides most of the conflict and opposition for Carol living a normal life and not the role of a subservient housewife.

Carol is a fascinating portrait of not only gender roles and emotions but the complexities of making a life for yourself after being associated with someone else for such a long period of time.  The theme of loneliness and isolation plays a very big part in not only Carol’s life but Therese’s as well.  The difference between Carol and Therese is that Therese is still learning her identity in life and where her place in the world is.  Carol guides Therese on that journey mostly by demonstrating how she acts in different social situations.  Carol has a stature to her that automatically asserts her dominance in the world and the maturity she has gained after years of marriage.

This film may very well be Cate Blanchett’s biggest success in acting because by and large her most subtle performance to date.  Most of Blanchett’s roles have been of key historical monarchs or larger than life relatives who made horrible mistakes in life.  All of Carol’s reactions rely expressly on the emotions she communicates to the audience.  The moments when Blanchett really shines are when she’s playing against the actresses who play her daughter Rindy.  I am keenly aware that Carol’s true persona is when she is giving Rindy a stable home.  In fact, I postulate that she can only be herself when she’s with her daughter.  So where does this leave confidant and love interest Therese?  Mara is a good choice of actress for the character but she’s given very little to do other than be a wide eyed school girl at the confidence Carol exudes in her life.  This movie essentially rests on the fact that two individuals are hiding a significant secret are far flung out of space in a sense they live in a world that isn’t ready to accept them.

I love the fact that this film gave me insight into the struggle women faced when it came to choosing who they love in life.  The film’s production designer does an impeccable job at recreating the period through color schemes and technology.  I was consistently in the 1950s with this film because of the quiet fury exhibited in the dialogue of the actors.  This film is also highlighted by some of the best color and light work I have seen since Mad Max: Fury Road.  The director of photography achieved a level of technique that was so unique and powerful that not only did I feel transported to the environments Carol and Therese inhabited, I felt their sorrow from having to live with such a lack of acceptance forced to live a life of loneliness and objectification.

Todd Haynes direction and his intimate gaze into the lives of these women filled me with sadness.  Therese’s struggle was identifying herself and not being a slave to the roles life placed upon her.  Carol, on the other hand was tied to a marriage and a relationship she did not believe in.  Both people not only found solace and strength by learning from each other in different ways and at different times but by having such a dynamic and at times chaotic relationship in secret they brought out the best of what each other was truly capable of.  While all of their efforts may have amounted to a love for each other the acceptance of being the best version of themselves together made the film as impressionable and memorable as anything I have seen this year.