Carol [DVD]

10/10…. If you’re a lesbian, bisexual woman or a non-binary person who likes women, this is a must watch

Love the film brilliant actresses recommend great storytelling

A stand out film, one of the best I’ve seen.

This poignant and great Patricia Highsmith story set in the fifties about the young woman Therese falling in love with the older Carol is very well done indeed: props and sets are all immaculate. But, as other reviewers have noted, there is one serious flaw: the lack of chemistry between the two main characters.Carol is a woman on the point of divorce. Her husband Harge resents her past and/or present affairs with women but loves her still, using their daughter in a legal custody battle to force Carol in line, which means heartbreak for Carol. Therese is a young woman working in a shopping mall, pushed by her boyfriend to marry him but really unsure about herself or her future. Then she meets Carol in the shop and she's completely blown over at first sight. Carol invites her to her house and their relationship is strengthened and consummated during a long trip by car. However, the couple are being followed by a detecive gathering evidence of this illicit affair for Harge, who's doing all he can to break Carol's will by way of the courts. The journey ends abruptly with Carol leaving Therese. Will they meet again? And is there a future for them?I thought the film stuck to the book quite faithfully but as said, upon rewatching, there is a lack of chemistry. Carol herself, played by the towering actress Cate Blanchett, is cool and sophisticated as she should be, but Therese as played by Rooney Mara doesn't embody the infatuation this story needs. When Therese first sees Carol we're supposed to feel her enrapture but it's simply not there and we never get there either. Uncertainty, vulnerability, girlishness and underlying strength Mara most definitely shows but not the powerful emotions that should be the core of the film.So, a tasteful and well-produced film but lacking a key ingredient.

A superb example of all the components of excellent film making coming together in harmony. Having read the book it is based on 'The Price of Salt' by Patricia Highsmith, it is as if the intended story has been delicately lifted off the canvas as it were. For it to be so true to the orignal story one must give maximum credit to the artistry of screenwriter Phyllis Nagy, the intuitive direction of Todd Haynes, the beautiful cinematography (the film is shot in super 16) of Ed Lachman and the utterly stunning performances of Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. For this to have worked so magnificently, it was important to have interpreted the silences, the awkward moments when it was that which was left unsaid rather than that which was spoken and this component is portrayed to perfection. . . total credit to all involved. I am sure Ms Highsmith would have approved.This was an era, the early 1950s, when it was taboo to express intimate feelings towards one's own gender, sublety was necessary, a delicate candour in private and a sophisticated approach to romance were all part of making it possible to dodge all the obstacles society put upon those who challenged the norm. It was a time when courtship romance was still alive, a time when it developed, smouldered, grew out of tender anticipation and desire and all this is reflected so well in this remarkably well crafted film. The soundtrack is good blending in the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Jo Stafford and many more appropriate artists. The cinematography is astonishingly beautiful and it is crowned by Carol's adorable bronze/beige Packard motor car.Oh how I wish that all films were as all round good as this, everyone involved deserves credit for the team work that made it.

No wonder this film scooped more than eighty awards, the attention to detail is sumptuous – 5 StarsCarol is based on the novel “The Price of Salt” by Patricia Highsmith. Written in the 1960’s, it was the first lesbian book that gave the lovers at least the hope of a happy future.Set in 1950’s America, the film details the developing relationship between Carol, an elegant socialite, and Therese, a young department store assistant. For both women, the relationship is complicated by their situation. Carol is going through a messy divorce and her controlling husband is cruel enough to use their young daughter as a bargaining chip in an attempt to control her. Therese, on the other-hand, is not yet twenty years old, and, has to come to terms with her feelings for Carol.There are so many plus-points to this film, that it’s difficult to know where to begin. The screen adaptation has been done so sensitively; this is one film to which I had entirely the same response as when I first read the book decades ago. The sets are beautifully detailed and the acting, particularly from Blanchett and Mara is outstanding. Perhaps though, it’s the cinematography that pushes Carol in to the realms of film greats. So much of this film is about what’s not said, but each captured gesture and glance speaks more than a hundred words of script ever could.A stunningly beautiful and moving romance – Highly recommended.

Outstanding film. The DVD looks great, the box is nice. Very good value for money! Definitely would recommend to anyone who loves this movie.Todd Field did an incredible job directing, and the cast knocked it out of the park. The book the movie is based on is an incredible piece of literature, so it's surprising to see that the movie lived somewhat up to its standard."You either have chemistry with someone or you don't. You can't.[...] It's not something you can work on, you either have it or not. I felt lucky in that it was easy for me to feel chemistry towards Cate- Not only because you know- she's...Cate."Rooney Mara

Note to readers. I wrote this on Oct. 6, 2019, for my local authors' association.How does a 62-year-old straight, southern man fall in love with a film about the romance between two women in mid-20th-century New York? What is it about director Todd Haynes’s Carol that drew me in like few movies/books ever have? Yes, I added “books”; after watching the film on a Thursday night and again the following morning, I purchased Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt on Friday afternoon and read it over the weekend. Carol (2015) is based on The Price of Salt (1952) via Phyllis Nagy’s award-winning screen adaption. On Sunday evening, I felt criminal for accessing such a masterpiece for a measly 99¢ on Kindle.The film and novel are different, quite different, in my opinion. That said, the love story, passion, and intensity are the same, and that’s what really matters, right? It is hard to imagine a long-time fan of The Price of Salt not enjoying Carol, but I speculate, as I had never heard of Carol or The Price of Salt before stumbling upon the movie on Netflix a couple of weeks ago. The film and novel have been reviewed, discussed, dissected, and lauded at length in the past four years. But dammit, in my little world, I missed all that. I’ve got to talk about this story with someone, but my narrow circle of acquaintances either can’t handle the subject matter or don’t get it, so you’re it.The novel is written in third-person limited from the point of view of a fledgling set designer, Therese Belivet. Omniscient to Therese alone, one can only read Highsmith’s other characters through Therese’s thoughts and reactions. While working Christmas relief at a Manhattan department store, Therese meets Carol Aird, an upper-middle-class, suburban, estranged wife and mother. A “love at first sight” moment, the two “women of their time” begin a cautious dance that takes us from NY to NJ to Philly to Ohio to Chicago and farther points west. They fall in love. They make love. Therese falls in hard and deep. Carol? The viewer/reader and Therese aren’t sure. One must follow along to find out.In 1952 Highsmith was already a known quantity to her publisher when she finished The Price of Salt; however, they did not want a “career-ending lesbian novel.” She chose another publisher and a pseudonym (Claire Morgan) to sprinkle Salt on the world. It sold well, but not until 1990 did Highsmith agree to republish in her own name, this time entitled Carol.Geez! Given the modern appeal of the subject matter, why did it take 63 years to make a film version? I guess we are still a very puritan culture, or more likely, my straight world feels threatened by the prospect of a same-sex couple living happily ever after. It’s hard to fathom such a fine story dwelling in the peripheral for over six decades, and that’s not all, Nagy’s bold, intelligent screenplay simmered for the last two of those. Was Hollywood scared to bite? Or perhaps, the agents of Carol were holding out, waiting for the right team, that magic mix of artists that would present the world with one of the best films of all time. They won the battle; it’s a motion picture that does the novel justice.One screen option would have been for Therese to narrate off-screen, but that would have been distractive, so Nagy wisely made Carol Aird an equal player. Somewhere in this incubation, Cate Blanchett joined the project. We are all the more blessed for that. She plays the flawed, beautiful, and tortured Carol to perfection. She is Carol. Blanchett’s Carol shines like the sun in this movie, while… oh, wait…I punched the “OK” button on my remote, and Carol started to roll. Other than Miss Cate, I distractedly phased out the other cast members’ printed names. Cut me some slack; the opening’s visuals and sounds seduced me; you will be, too, if you’re human. As hard as it was, a half-hour or so later, I hit pause. Danny, who is this compelling brunette with the eyes? A Googling of the cast indicated this girl, this “flung out of space” heartbreaker, is Rooney Mara. I was stunned. I have seen Mara’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at least five times, read Stieg Larsson’s book, watched all of Noomi Rapace’s Swedish television portrayals twice, and watched Queen Elizabeth II’s… oops, Claire Foy’s portrayal in the latest big-screen production, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, four times. You ask, “So, Danny, you’re obsessed with Lisbeth Salander as well?” Oh, hell yeah! The thing is, once again, in my little cloistered life, Lisbeth is the only image I had of Rooney Mara. I don’t do entertainment or talk shows or even awards shows. I contemplated, took a deep breath, and hit the play arrow.…Rooney Mara’s Therese glows like the moon. When these two stare or only glance into one another’s eyes, it takes your breath away. The closing scene features their unbroken eye contact for a dialogue-free full twenty-seven seconds, and I mean real seconds, one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand…What does the book have that the movie doesn’t? Mainly, Therese’s relatable insecurities are bounced off the reader like pinballs. Highsmith provides a daunting backstory for her ingénue. Therese’s father died when she was young. Unloved by her mother, she was cast off to an oppressive parochial school. Highsmith fires Therese’s growing frustrations at the reader; our girl is romantically and sexually attracted to Carol, one of her own gender, all the while facing societal, possibly criminal, penalties if she pursues said desires.The reader enjoys a time-capsule glimpse of mid-century theatrical set design with its paper models and flippant producers and directors. In contrast, Therese is striving to become a professional photographer in the film.Our pair takes a road trip in both the novel and the movie, but Highsmith’s is longer in time and miles.What does the film offer that the book doesn’t? Cinematography, costume design, music, directing, screenwriting, and acting, all at their very best. Blanchett and Mara give punch-in-the-gut performances of women risking it all (the price) to pursue true happiness (salt). You will only experience Carol’s final exchange with her estranged husband and their attorneys in the film; I’d be shocked if the powerful Blanchett fails to bring a tear to your eye. Mara’s performance as Therese is an open wound, every nerve pulses. Screenwriter Nagy’s decision to change Therese’s career goal to photography is genius. As Therese tweezers black and white prints from the developer, the viewer sees both the character’s natural talent for the craft and, when the photographic subject is Carol, Therese’s enchantment.What do both share? On light notes, the art of cigarette smoking is shown and/or described in all its unholy glory, guilt-free, out in the open, and everywhere. The women of Carol orgasmically drag on their cigarettes. I never acquired a tobacco habit, but the addiction’s portrayal brought back childhood memories of watching adults congregate under their blue-white haze. Whether in print or film, more treats for me are the travel courts, cafes, restaurants, and hotels of our protagonists’ early-fifties road trip through Americana.Heavier is the tension and apprehension Highsmith, Nagy, and Haynes generate with simple human interactions. I write and read mostly action-adventures. This book’s and movie’s closing chapters and scenes are cliffhanger-like. No violence, screams, or shouts, just emotions pushing you to the edge of your seat. I must point out that Carol carries more baggage than Therese, so she has to make a decision that I found Sophie’s Choice like. While not of that Holocaust magnitude, it is still horrendous.What appears in neither? The word lesbian doesn’t. The two men who love Carol and Therese want to think their women suffer from some curable psychiatric disorder or deviance. They seem to believe that some level of shouting, pleading, or bullying will induce their “ladies” to seek help or simply “get over it.” Throughout, Carol and Therese realize their only real problem is society and its audacity to dictate that most precious freedom, the gender of one's love. The hearted reader or viewer finds the fog of prejudice lifted to reveal a tender love story.As to my opening questions:“How does a…” I watched it.“What is it about…” It’s so damn good.Less than a week after I first watched Carol, Netflix dropped it. “What the hell?” When I fall for a film, I will watch it repeatedly, and three times was not enough. I exited Netflix to the general viewing area and anxiously spoke into the remote, “Carol.” A single option appeared; alas, I had to buy the film. Oh well, Danny, ten measly dollars for a Carol fix anytime you want. I will become jaded or at least less enthusiastic about Carol at some point, but not yet:After the opening score fades, plot device Jack steps away from the upscale hotel bar to confirm the identity of a woman seated in the adjacent restaurant; viewing her from behind, he is unsure. Hesitantly, Jack literally peeks around a massive pillar at the restaurant entrance. Much closer now, he boldly calls out in his crisp New York accent, “Therese? Is that you?” Shocked, she turns.I’m in.

This flm showed me that if ever you are lucky enough to find love, you should embrace it. No matter the cost.

È davvero un film stupendo, che tutti dovrebbero vedere almeno una volta. E ambientato negli anni 50, e narra la storia d’amore tra due donne molto diverse tra loro che si incontrano per puro caso: la giovanissima Therese, aspirante fotografa ma commessa per necessità, che quindi deve ancora trovare la propria strada, e la matura ed affascinante Carol, che invece ha già una figlia ed un divorzio in corso. Questo film (tratto dal romanzo di Patricia Highsmith), tratta questo tema con un’eleganza ed una delicatezza tale da incantare lo spettatore, fa uno spaccato della società di quegli anni e mostra il comportamento bigotto della gente nei confronti di tutto quello che non è considerato “normale” secondo gli schemi imposti da religione e società (comportamento che purtroppo non è molto diverso anche ai giorni nostri), le attrici sono entrambe bravissime e riescono a trasmettere in modo magistrale la gioia e la sofferenza vissute durante le loro travagliate vicende. CONSIGLIATO!

Loved the movie grea5 actors

Carol est un film réalisé par Todd Haynes, mettant en scène Cate Blanchett et Rooney Mara.Synopsis : Dans le New York des années 50, Thérèse, jeune employée d'un grand magasin à Manhattan, fait la connaissance d'une cliente distinguée, Carol, femme séduisante, prisonnière d'un mariage peu heureux. A l'étincelle de la première rencontre succède un sentiment plus profond. Les deux femmes se retrouvent bientôt prises au piège entre les conventions et leur attirance mutuelle.Cate Blanchett est, dans ce film, à la fois séduisante, mystérieuse et touchante. En face d'elle, Rooney Mara ne fait pas pâle figure et son personnage, à la fois timide et passionné, est très touchant. Le duo fonctionne à merveille, et on ne se surprend pas à vouloir que le couple réussisse à affronter les obstacles.L'histoire est menée avec brio, sur un ton léger et sensuel. L'histoire touche un sujet controversé, l'homosexualité dans les années 50, et, qui plus est, avec une femme encore mariée à un homme. Malgré ça, le sujet est mené avec légèreté, sans jugement de valeur. La relation entre les deux femmes est touchante et sensible.La scène de sexe, que certains critiques n'ont pas aimé, est à mon goût, très réussie. Elle est mise en scène de façon très sensible, et sensuelle. La relation est douce, et les plans sont bien choisis : des gros plans de visages complices, de mains, de dos, quelques mots susurrés. A l'inverse de beaucoup de films/séries, la scène n'est pas vulgaire et pourtant bien plus érotique, parce qu'elle ne montre que peu d'éléments visuels (l'imagination fait le reste).Le film est tourné en 16 mm, ce qui donne un grain et nous plonge facilement au cœur des années 50. Il y a assez peu de paroles, faisant place à un jeu de regard. Les "blancs" (de parole) sont par moment comblés par une musique douce, mais qui n'alourdit pas les scènes (contrairement à d'autres films où la musique est omniprésente et prend le spectateur par la main pour lui expliquer grossièrement la dramatique du film)EN BREF : un bon scénario, une complicité entre les deux actrices, et une très belle photo. Un petit bijou à posséder pour tous les amoureux du cinéma.