”This? This is Waterloo.’ She reached for a cigarette. ‘Isn’t that awful?” Carol Film Review

Disclaimer: Minor spoilers may be included if you haven’t seen the film yet!

“‘What town is this?’ she asked. 

Carol laughed. ‘This? This is Waterloo.’ She reached for a cigarette. ‘Isn’t that awful?”

Smiling Therese raised up on her elbow. Carol put a cigarette between her lips. “There’s a couple of Waterloos in every state,’ Therese said.”

(The Price of Salt – Patricia Highsmith)

Last night I caught the last showing of the day for the film Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara at Varsity Cinema—My least favourite cinema in Toronto—with a Meetup group. It was my first time seeing a film with this group and I was by far the youngest person to attended but I met some really nice people and one incredibly narcissistic woman who could not stop speaking about herself for one moment. She also to my misfortune sported an Apple iwatch that she must have programmed to turn on and display the time with a bright red background that lit her entire face and shone into mine when it did so. I love the cinema experience and even more so when I can see a film with like minded people so that it can be discussed afterwards but when it came to this woman who enjoyed complaining about things that weren’t to her benefit she really missed the cue of respecting those around her. She spoke throughout the entire trailers (which I enjoy watching in silence), her damn watch kept turning off and on throughout the film and when the film was over she wouldn’t let anyone utter their thoughts without interrupting them with her opinions. Terrible! Ugh, back to the review!

Carol is set in 1952 around Christmas time and is filmed in super 16mm film which works well for the aesthetic of this movie. An adaptation to a 50s Lesbian pulp novel titled The Price of Salt the story is more of a character piece about these two women and what revolves around them than a story just involving them. The film starts with Therese played by Rooney Mara who works as a shopgirl in the toy department in Manhattan, New York. We learn she’s a bit odd and aspiring to be a photographer. While she works behind the desk an elegant woman by the train sets catches her eye. The woman then approaches Therese to ask about a doll for her daughter that has sold out. When she asks Therese what she wanted when she was 4 years old Therese shares she was always fond of owning a train set and recommends a specific model to her. The poised woman is sold on the idea and purchases a set as a Christmas present giving her name, Carol Aird and address to have it shipped and assembled before Christmas eve. Both then engage in some friendly chatter before Carol leaves the store forgetting her gloves at the counter. Therese uses the store receipt to return her gloves by mail.

Therese is having a hard trying figuring out what she wants. She loves photography but seems hesitant to pursue it professionally. She has a serious boyfriend named Richard played by Jake Lacy who is clearly head over heels for her but she feels indifferent about. It becomes quite obvious he wants bigger things for them as he tries to plan a trip to Europe and mentions marriage but Therese is just unsure about the entire idea and cannot connect with him in the same way. Meanwhile we learn that Carol is in the middle of a divorce with her estranged husband Harge played by Kyle Chandler as they share custody of their daughter Rindy. If there is anything I learned quickly in the interactions these two women have with their male counterparts it’s that it sucked being a taken or married woman in the 50s. You were essentially a man’s property and men called all the shots and their lewd behaviour towards a female was considered fondness or admiration. Gross! There’s a scene where Therese asks Richard if he’s ever been in love. He tells her that she’s been the only one for him but she calls him out on the other two women he had mentioned to her before. He flatly says “Oh, I only had sex with them.” What really perturbed me about this line was the expectation that because they had not gone all the way she was marriage material but the other two women were just conquests.

The relationship between Carol and Therese was interesting to me. It didn’t necessary move quickly between them but you felt the magnetic force that drew them to each other similar to a love at first sight, however I can’t say I bought the actual romantic chemistry between them. It felt more like an admiration for one another. Therese is a young, submissive woman just starting her life while Carol is an experienced, dominant, married woman of high status. I can’t say there was an actual cinematic spark of romance like I would have expected in a drama like this one. Even the intimacy scenes seemed to lack that sell although Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are both incredibly attractive women and talented actors in their own right.  While watching this film there was a visible tension between the two characters when they shared the screen. Both are trying to get to know one another and yet struggling to read each other’s actual intensions. Carol, seems to have a better grasp of what she is looking for in Therese however Therese is going by the feelings this woman provokes in her to figure out her confusion over it all. I imagine some people will mistaken this as a slow moving story instead of a complicated one. This was the 1950s after all and the idea of two women or two men falling in love with one another seemed farfetched and impossible even to those experiencing it.

What I personally enjoyed were how the driving scenes were filmed. They had a experimental, photographic yet painterly quality to them. Filmed through the car window they blurred and focused beautifully revealing details in the condensation on the window while silhouetting Therese’s face behind as bright reds and greens of the street lights shown through or bounced off the glass. The way the entire film was done reminded me of an Edward Hopper painting. I also enjoyed how they captured the richness in style and burnished colours of the period. It dripped off the screen with the wardrobe, production design, makeup and hair styles. I could not get enough of it.

Carol is currently nominated for five golden globes for 2016. Best Motion Picture Drama,  Best Performance by an Actress for both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, Best Director and Best Original Score. I have to be honest here and say I don’t quite agree with the nominations. The score wasn’t very memorable to me and the performances although good were definitely not award worthy in my opinion. Cate Blanchett came close if anything however Rooney Mara’s acting in this particular role was not anything special. The film itself wasn’t bad. The two characters are interesting enough and how they portray the period is alluring but the story just falls flat without the believable romantic chemistry. I did appreciate the hopeful, open ending over an expected tragic one considering the time period and the theme. I just don’t agree with the hype this film has made.

Three stars out of five.