"Carol" was released on 11-20-2015, with general releases to many more theaters on 1-8-2016 and 1-15-2016 in the U.S.A. Critics and the general public, at a percentage of 90-95%, are giving the movie rave reviews. Many individuals are drawn to the 2 lead characters. Carol is a beautiful closeted lesbian in the prime of life, mid 40's. A patrician woman, she is elegant and sophisticated in Manhatten 1952-53. Keys to understanding her, as brilliantly and heartbreakingly played by Cate Blanchett, are the following: devoted mother, depressed, frustrated, lonely, moody, mood swings, melancholy silences, distant, drinker, smoker, tactile, sensuous, charming, spoiled, stylish, flirty, self indulgent, observant, seductive, and answers only to herself. Nearing divorce, she is still in the world and largess provided by her estranged husband Harge. La dolce vita, economically speaking. Looming just before her is the bitter custody battle for 4 year old daughter Rindy. She is the light and joy of Carol's life as the movie begins.
Carol is entranced, like bewitched, by a young photographer, Therese, 22 years old. Therese is mesmerized, constantly thrown off guard by Carol, in ways she does not understand. They befriend each other over lunches at restaurants, drinks at cocktail lounges, visiting Carol's house in Ridgeway, New Jersey and the simple apartment of Therese. About a week. Then. The ill fated Packard car road trip to the heartland at Iowa and Illinois. Affair begun. Caught and entrapped by the audio tapes made by the private detective then sent to Harge. Disaster. Then. Almost 4 months of no communication. Silence. Devastation. After The Letter, Therese feels rejected and abandoned by Carol, in any context of their relationship. Then. There are 2 scenes of attempted reconciliations. The first by Carol, fails. The second by Therese? Unclear. The movie ends with the 2 gazes, from Therese to Carol then Carol to Therese at the Oak Room in the Plaza Hotel, mid April 1953. Cate Blanchett's grey suit is lit to look a Spring green, a hue of renewed life, new beginnings, and fervent hope. The final seconds on screen, in her marvelous luminous close up, belong to Carol. Her enigmatic smile, intense and warm, is an expression of "raw happiness."
The movie is indeed beautiful on many levels: the beauty of Cate Blanchett (Carol) and Rooney Mara (Therese). Beautiful set design, and the stunningly impressive costume design of Sandy Powell. Ed Lachman's cinematograpy, like in the tunnel sequence leaving New York City. Beautiful score by Carter Burwell, as in "Christmas Trees" or "The Letter" or "The Ending Theme" among others. Todd Haynes direction is sure and masterful in many memorable, beautiful, and subtle choices deeply revealing of nuance of details in his unfolding portrait of 2 unlikely women in love.
However. THE PRICE of lesbianism means Carol loses custody of Rindy and will see her only 24 days a year. Will Carol see Therese only 2 days a month, 24 days a year? Or nights? At story's end, are we led to basically cheer for the resumed lesbian romance and affair of Carol and Therese pitted against the loneliness, sufferings, and maternal deprivation of the needy, sensitive and vulnerable 4 year old Rindy? Is there any hint of intentional mockery of marriage, child custody, and family values? What are some central values: beauty, lesbianism, the bewitchment or mesmeric, desire, adultery, and fornication? In 1952-53 America, what the women do sexually is criminal behavior, illegal acts, morality clause applicable, and proof of "sexual perversion" also. Beautiful?
Is "Carol" a spiritually beautiful and inspirational love story? Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are extraordinary in the telling of this story of friendship, love, and sexuality. Deeply affecting. Heartbreaking. Memorable. The lyricism of the heart.
Carol and "Carol" are attractive, enticing, and seductive on many levels. Yet. A profound question remains to be asked. And pondered well. Is everything beautiful also good?
With Love and Shalom,
Jean