Review of Carol (1990) by Steve P — 08 Jan 2016

Two reviews of the film: "Carol" (one true, one false).

Review #1 (No Spoilers).

Todd Haynes' film "Carol" is truly the worthiest contender for the Best Picture in this coming Academy Awards ceremony. Breaking new ground with it's incredibly brave portrayal of a loving lesbian relationship, realized by a star of cinema, this film challenges viewers prejudices and sensibilities in new ways never before seen in mainstream cinema. All those who advocate for the LGBTQWXYZ community need to rush out and purchase tickets to this film to translate that support into a meaningful contribution of both time and money! This film is a beautiful and touching celebration of love and respect between two people who, despite having to overcome a great many socio-economic obstacles are both willing to pursue their visions of love and a better world. I heartily recommend this revolutionary film which shatters the pink ceiling and can usher in a new age of tolerance and understanding for not only the Lesbian community, but for all of man and womankind!

Review #2 ******* SPOILERS!!!!! *********.

One of the craftiest (and genuinely best-crafted) films of the year, Todd Hayne's "Carol" takes the cake for being the best straight-faced rendition of "Lolita" to come on screen this millennium. A tongue-in-cheek paean to the controlling power of the 1%, the film portrays a spoiled, filthy rich woman ("Carol") who sets her sights on her desires and whose money and privilege will not let her take "No" as any sort of answer. As Carol sets out to seduce and dominate the juvenile and uncertain Therese, her only obstacles are her imagined love for her daughter (a social formality she is unwilling to dispense with but willing to play to the hilt) and her equally rich 1%-er husband. But Carol can and will have it all: in the end she ditches the unwanted husband, gets the girl, and gets the other girl. She uses her money and wiles to accomplish this, setting herself up ultimately as the grand dominatrix of the film - all the characters ultimately bow to her power. Cold, unsympathetic, calculating and feigning, the ultimate freeze frame shows her (false) smile of the triumph of power over those around her who will never be free to operate on their own but will willingly let themselves controlled by the allure of wealth, power, and "culture" which Carol symbolizes. This is a wicked trick on Haynes' part whose "Far From Heaven" was a sincere protest against the social prejudices of the 1950s; here, in "Carol", the film is a celebration of the naked power of wealth and privilege. Don't pay to see it in the theater, however, where swooning audiences seem to utterly miss the dynamics of control and manipulation, but give your money to Netflix, if you have to. Haynes, meanwhile, is surely laughing all the way to the bank as audience members hearts throb with warm-fuzzies of social progressivism while missing the mute but screaming rage of the film which shows the way in which wealth utterly exploits the less fortunate.