Review of Carol (2015) by Wayne K — 21 Feb 2016
Breaking the cardinal movie rule of never giving characters dilemmas before we actually care about them, Carol is a film which practically begs for awards nominations. It's a period piece, is slow, overlong and is based around a contentious central issue.
It's the kind of flick that critics describe variously as 'lavish', 'sumptuous' and many other compliments regarding its aesthetics, but what is lacking in this movie is both story and motivation.
No attempt is made to explain what our 2 central characters see in each other. In Fight Club, Tyler Durden attracted the Narrators attention because he was charismatic. In Leon, Matilda found Leon tough, but she warmed to his immaturity and had the desire to help him grow as a person.
In Carol, the 2 heroines are basically thrown together from the get-go, and before we know enough about either of them to care. As a result, the heavy dramatic scenes carry no weight whatsoever and just end up being tedious, seriously bogging the film down.
And with these melodramatic scenes comprising the majority of the runtime, and the irritatingly manipulative score which spends every moment trying desperately to hammer in the sentiment, the end result is a film so sappy it'll make you want to puke, and a story so hollow and meaningless that you won't even be bothered to summon up the energy to do so.
This review of Carol (2015) was written by Wayne K on 21 Feb 2016.
Carol has generally received very positive reviews.
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