Carol (2015)

Carol: Directed by Todd Haynes. With Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson. An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York.

“Finally. FINALLY. This is the movie which completely overwhelmed my expectations and blew me away.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRomance is actually one of my favorite genres, but unfortunately it has let me down a lot more than once. Not the case with Carol. This has a strong possibility of being the best movie of 2015.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTherese is a woman working in a store who has an interest in trains and photography. But her hobbies is not enough to escape her boring and quite uneventful life. Carol has a wonderful daughter and is doing fine financially… but has an husband (whom she is trying to divorce) who wonu0026#39;t leave her alone and makes her feel miserable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThese two people meet, and… they connect.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFirst off, the story itself is already incredibly captivating. It takes place during a time period where homosexuality was not only frowned upon, but there were even laws against it. So seeing the two of them facing struggles in order to keep in contact with each other is fascinating to behold. And it is because the love story is so damn beautiful. There is a lot of visual language. Eye contact and body language often speaks for itself. And itu0026#39;s excellently executed, as you sometimes know exactly how these two character are feeling without a single word spoken. And even the dialogue itself has subtlety to it. There are plenty of times where either Carol or Therese insinuate feelings by using seemingly casual sentences. u0026quot;Your perfume… it smells good.u0026quot; is really just a synonym for u0026quot;I want to kiss youu0026quot;. u0026quot;Oh stop it, you look perfect!u0026quot; can very well mean u0026quot;I want to spend the rest of my life with you.u0026quot; The lines are not obvious giveaways and I love it. The audience gets to think for themselves.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut what really makes this movie work is the acting. Itu0026#39;s absolutely amazing. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are at their best ever. They make the characters so real, so human, that you wish they actually existed. Kyle Chandler also throws in a remarkable performance as the husband. You root for the two girls… but you donu0026#39;t hate Harge either. There is one scene where he has gone so far as to get himself to the house Carol and Therese is staying at for the weekend. And when heu0026#39;s told he canu0026#39;t have her, I was really feeling bad for the guy!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI canu0026#39;t remember the last time I have been as touched by a movie. It hit my heart just in the right places, and when I walked out of the theater I felt like I had just experienced someone elseu0026#39;s life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOkay, the trailer revealed too goddamn much from the movie, so several important plot details I already knew beforehand. But even that couldnu0026#39;t stop the perfectly orchestrated ocean of emotions it bathed me in. Carol will stick to your brain like glue after youu0026#39;ve watched it. Oh and the movie too ;)”