Review of Carol (2015) by Viet Phuong N — 21 Dec 2015

Carol is one of those movies with a level of critical praise that is both surprising and easy to believe. Obviously a 1950s period piece starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as star-crossed lovers--released during the height of awards season--is going to be worshipped, and for maybe the first half this movie, I was riding that same train.

But even if the performances are fantastic, the cinematography is great, and the themes are interesting, it doesn't make for a movie that's exempt from the rules of how the duration of a script affects a movie.

Blanchett and Mara wholly deserve the praise that they're getting as does Todd Haynes for his sensitive direction, but ultimately, Carol is one of those movies that I "only" think is really good because the script doesn't really know what it should focus on and when.

In regards to what works--which is most of the movie--the praise has to front-and-center go to the acting. It's no surprise that Blanchett is charismatic as hell, being beautiful, bold, and broken at the same time.

She's realistic and her portrayal of a woman being punished for her homosexuality never breaches the territory of "emotion porn" or tries to pull at people's heartstrings by just seeming pathetic or lost.

Rooney Mara has a great presence which, despite her work in Side Effects and Her, I haven't truly recognized until now. She makes for such a great compliment to Blanchett's character, essentially playing what Blanchett sees to be as herself in the past.

This may sound like a horrific insult, but she kind of reminded me of Dakota Johnson in Fifty Shades of Grey (Johnson was the one of two strong things about that movie along with its cinematography). Mara makes for a likable protagonist and tries her hardest to elevate a certain supporting actor that she has to work with (more on that later).

Haynes's direction makes an immediate impact in its coziness and respect, making it as if the film is told through the nostalgic eyes of Blanchett's character. This all sounds amazing, right? Well, the issue wth Carol is that Phyllis Nagy's screenplay is a little spotty at times and definitely could have been condensed.

I've never read the novel on which the film is based, but as a movie itself, Carol suffers from a third act that marks a strong decrease from the magnetism of the first 90 minutes. Once Mara's character reaches her lowest point, the movie just keeps going, often times repeating what the film has already established or going back to characters that aren't as impactful as its two leads.

The movie could have been fifteen to twenty minutes shorter had some scenes of been shortened or combined. The film revisits some conflicts that Blanchett's character is having in her personal life and teases the audiences as to whether or not the two leads will actually end up together, but it just feels overdrawn.

Also, the one negative for the acting was Jake Lacy (The Office, Obvious Child) as Rooney Mara's love interest. His delivery is so flat here that it just feels like he's reading lines with a New York accent than actually believing them, and his scenes opposite Mara only highlight how wooden he is in this film.

Although Carol wasn't an experience like seeing God or something, it's still a really good movie--it just also happens to be one that doesn't quite deserve the acclaim that it's getting.

The two leads are terrific and the direction and performances are understated and tasteful, especially given its subject matter at times. There's a good amount of striking shots here, and the warmness that Haynes brings is a positive.

Its screenplay just doesn't maintain its momentum once it reaches its third act and the movie's pacing suffers as a result. The themes at hand are still interesting, though, and with all of its positives, Carol outweighs its script's issues.

8.1/10, really good, one thumb up, above average, etc.