Review of Carol (2015) by Dptdryste — 19 Feb 2017

My real score is 8.3 or so, but alas...

I liked the opening of the movie. When the two ladies are interrupted, you can tell that they are politely ending the conversation prematurely. We also get a look at Carol (Cate Blanchett’s character), who the movie is named after. Therese, Rooney Mara’s character, is established from the car ride after this moment as our pensive, passive main character. I wish I didn’t know this was a love story beforehand, because I would imagine this opening would have been much more interesting.

The movie keeps going, establishing Therese’s character and then she meets Carol at her job. We realize the movie has done a time jump backwards and presumably the viewer is going to get their answer for why the tense moment at the hotel in the future, where the movie opens, happened. At Therese’s job Carol leaves her gloves and Therese returns them. Thanking Therese with lunch and later making more and more advances, it becomes sort of obvious at that Carol is infatuated with Therese, and that Therese likes her too.

I thought it was funny how encroaching the male presences seemed to be in the movie, towards our two main characters. Carol and Therese both seemed trapped by their circumstances, the men around them offering legal counsel, jobs, demanding to be together, sowing needles and so on. Carol is older and moneyed, Therese is more reserved and immature, but the movie does a good job of showing how life seems to be pulling them both along; both women leaving together seems to be an important moment for THEM to steer life. This is a nice part of the movie.

I was waiting for one of two things to happen after the romantic scenes with Carol and Therese, either that something bad would happen or that Carol would leave Therese. The movie manages to do both, and I rolled my eyes a bit at both of these moments. I was also not a fan of music during the more intimate moments, but in general I think non-diagetic noises should be avoided as much as possible in any art you are meant to be absorbed in. I may be in the minority on this preference, however.

The bad thing that happens during the trip that leads to Carol leaving is that her homosexuality is being used against her for her husband arguing for sole custody in the divorce they are going through. One can really explore the theme of life not letting you love who you want to love in these moments, which is done well in Carol.

We get one of the more powerful moments of the film when the younger woman, Therese, tries to call Carol… and Carol hangs up. Our two women are forced to separate, and as viewers we are meant to lament the sorry state these women are forced to live with after their trip. They aren’t broken down completely, but rather just have to move on. Anyone that has been in this situation can relate to this feeling, and it really makes you feel for these women.

Later, Carol submits joint custody in exchange for regular visits in her divorce proceedings. She makes a passioned argument about the well-being of the child in the middle of these two parents and one wonders about the flatness of the character played by Carol’s husband here. It was different times back then, sure, but I thought it was funny that an obvious argument that probably would have come up a long time since the beginning of divorce proceedings brought the divorce to a settlement.

Carol reaches out to Therese shortly after this moment, for tea. The movie throws us back to where it began, and this scene is done extremely well. We know these women and their history now, and the scene is sad and tense… but you feel sort of relieved for these women at the same time. When Carol says “well, that’s that,” my heart sank a bit for the couple. The two split away, to plans they each had with their own friends. The end of the movie, when Therese reconsiders and seeks out Carol, allows the viewer to recover shortly after. The ending happens in slow motion and is a bit too dramatic, but the effect it intends is achieved.

I liked this movie. For reference, I am a 25 year old straight male, of black/hispanic descent. I have always connected more with women than men and think that women still aren’t as equal as men in society, and this was a movie that made me think about that kind of thing, although I want to make clear that the movie isn't throwing that kind of thing in your face constantly. It’s not a hugely political movie, but that’s what it made me think about.

I liked when the song Easy Living is played on piano by Therese, then later the two are relaxing to the version with vocals, a version bought by Therese for Carol as a Christmas gift. I associate the song with Fallout 3, because I first heard the song in that game, but this movie reorients what this song means to me: that it is a love song.

“Living for you, is easy living.

It's easy to live when you're in love.

And, I'm so in love,.

There's nothing in life, but you.