Carol is grade A Oscar bait. Morally conflicted young lesbian meets older lesbian in the 1950s to discover herself despite societal judgment? You can practically see the “Produced by Harvey Weinstein” coming next. What makes Carol less pretentious than its story is the two main actresses, Cate Blachett and Rooney Mara, who act the hell out of their parts to give the story more texture than its surface would suggest.
Therese (Rooney Mara) meets Carol (Cate Blanchett) at a toy store, and its obvious they are drawn to each other. After meeting up a few times to chat, Carol asks Therese to go on vacation with her to the Midwest. During their trip, Therese becomes more aware of Carol’s feelings towards her, as well as her own feelings, especially about sexuality. However, outside pressures threaten their magical bubble, like Carol’s divorce from Harge (Kyle Chandler) and Therese’s impending proposal from Richard (Jake Lacy).
Props to Phyllis Nagy’s screenplay. When writing a story like this, there is probably great pressure to make the story preachy. Instead, the story focuses on the characters’ relationship, and only looks at the homosexuality from afar. As such, the story can unfold slowly and probably realistically; Therese wouldn’t know what being a lesbian feels like. Her awakening and education from Carol grows with each new location they meet at, and we see her change and mature to be comfortable in her own skin. In addition, there is no big speech in front of a bunch of people about how they are normal people. The sexual nature of these women is only referenced as a last resort for selfish people who want to exploit their vulnerability in society. People close to Carol or Therese are more confused than angry, which is probably how people who care about you would react. The story’s specificity to the situation and people keeps Carol off the high horse for the benefit of the audience.
That being said, the tonal mismatch of self-importance nearly dethrones the movie. To relate to Oscar voters, the big themes of Carol are existential inner crises and altered personal relationships, which, while sad, are not exactly dire. However, Carol obsesses with dark imagery and impassioned pleas for understanding, insinuating the world may come crumbling down if Carol’s doomsday scenario comes true. However, in the next scenes, she is seen socializing in high end societies in New York, looking a little sad, but otherwise unostracized. The tonal mismatch tries to lend extra poignancy to the story, but relatively doesn’t fit into the movie the audience is watching.
The acting here though is quite amazing. Cate Blanchett is great as ever, playing an established lesbian during an era where it was severely uncommon. Blanchett commands the screen with regal authority, but in Carol she adds a little motherly warmth that can be uncommon from her. Rooney Mara is equally good playing the wide eyed innocent. Watching her mature and become more confident is Carol’s greatest success. Sarah Paulson is enigmatically interesting as a former confidant of Carol’s. The men, probably obviously, suffer the most due to screentime. Kyle Chandler and Jake Lacy are fine, but more exposure would help flesh them out, particularly the more interesting Chandler.
Carol is great for upper class Hollywood. The movie progressively confirms their belief system and relates to their person inner struggles. Oh, and their general love of big toy stores and train sets.