Review of Carol (2015) by David P — 30 May 2016

Beautiful to look at and buoyed by two very strong performances, this is a film worth checking out for the acting.

The film is visually very pretty. Set around Christmas in the 50s, it feels like a Christmas card come to life. The sets and costumes are quite lovely. Carter Burwell's score is wonderful, but the film's best quality, well, qualities, are Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara.

Cate Blanchett plays the titular Carol, and as she does so frequently, Blanchett knocks it out of the park and into the next state. Her performance is very complex. At first, the film makes you feel like she's a spider about to trap Rooney Mara's fly in a dangerous web, but nothing could be further from the truth. She's warm, caring, and her screen presence is just magnificent. Blanchett's Carol is one of the best performances she's ever given.

Rooney Mara is much quieter, though equally as good as Blanchett. The two form an interesting yin and yang. Blanchett being confident and outgoing and Mara being shy and reserved. It's a good performance from Mara that compliments Blanchett perfectly. Though it should be noted Mara's our main character. The film starts and ends with her.

If the film has any flaws, it's that it suffers from "Return of the King Syndrome" and feels like it ends about half a dozen different times. The last 15 minutes feel very dragged out. Lucky we have two captivating actresses giving amazing performances to make us forget that.