Review of Carol (2015) by Ozzy Y — 03 Mar 2016

Hugely acclaimed by the critics, Carol is an elegant, finely crafted lesbian romance that will certainly be considered too slow and boring by the mainstream audiences while those searching for a quality film-making will be pleased by the refined directing and awards-worthy performances of Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Demanding and beautiful this is a movie that will not be equally rewarding for everyone and it requires the right approach and specific initial expectations.

Therese (Rooney Mara) is a young department-store clerk who gets to know the older and bored from life lady Carol (Cate Blanchett). As their friendship grows, Carol finds the strength to leave her unhappy marriage. This however has its consequences as soon her soon-to-be-former husband is attempting to question Carol's abilities to be a proper mother given her sexual orientation. Slowly (and probably in a boring for some manner), director Todd Hayens explores and depicts the psychological and emotional relationship between Therese and Carol, amidst the dramatic attempt of the latter to keep custody of her daughter and to be herself.

It will not be an overestimation if said that without Blanchett and Mara's presence, Carol would not have been a movie to enjoy. The slow pace, the restrained passion and too much focus on the audio-visual beauty rather than on the emotional side of the story deprive Todd Hayen's delivery from the potential to be a modern classic. It is true that Blanchett and Mara's chemistry is so hypnotizing that you will be following every gesture, every look they take at each other and every word they say, but this is only good enough to make the movie attractive to specific audiences.

In conclusion, Carol is an example of niche film-making which has its flaws but remains a recommendable movie.