Review: Carol (dir. Todd Haynes)

Carol features a subtle and subversive world of women, where desire is defined in gaze and exchanged with unspoken words.

img courtesy: imdb

Some movies thrive in deafening silence, carefully choosing words like snowflakes and having them land atop their world with a delicacy of silk. Similarly, Carol features a subtle and subversive world of women, where desire is defined in gaze and exchanged with unspoken words. In purely receptive terms, its cinematic effect is never immediate, loud and obnoxious. Rather, the film begins to unpack and affectionately permeate itself into the conscience of its viewers after the viewing is over.

img courtesy: imdb

The film directed by Todd Haynes was released in 2015 and over the years has assumed a cult-like position amidst the masses. With a perfect and irreplaceable cast featuring Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett to supporting actors Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler and even John Magaro, every actor wears their character like skin and offer a glory-filled screen presence no matter the duration of their scene. Before delving into one of the most iconic LGBTQ+ pairing on-screen in queer cinema, it is important to consider how every element of the film enhances the effect of its protagonists.

The direction of Haynes in Carol’s words “comes a full circle”, as the film begins where it would end and ends where it had begun, launching its protagonists into their new lives as the screen turns black.

img courtesy: imdb

The direction of Haynes in Carol’s words “comes a full circle”, as the film begins where it would end and ends where it had begun, launching its protagonists into their new lives as the screen turns black. The grainy shot composition in the mise-en-scéne and cinematography of the film imitates the early 1950s era with a close believability. Moreover, the shots often highlight fragmented body parts of the actors to match the distorted reality of the characters, sequences where dialogues are switched to music and heightened vulnerable emotional reactions. The moving music evokes and cements the feelings of its characters not only in the film but in its viewing experience. The costume design is so accurate that it almost seems that the persona of the characters is stitched into the fabric.

The love of these women exists in the inhibiting patriarchal society with fixated class and gender-roles, therefore, the language of the film mostly assumes a vocally muted and musical tongue.

img courtesy: imdb

Gauging from the numerous accounts devoted to the film on Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter, it becomes easy to understand the cult-like sensation of the film. Much of it is in the performative brilliance of Mara and Blanchett, who welcome their viewers into their intimate, complex world. More than its state-of-art aesthetic, it is the robust and substantial characters of Carol and Therese, who truly sensationalize the screen. The ordinary encounter of Carol, an upper-class social elite and Therese, a working-class young salesgirl brings about a radical change in the way they understand their worlds. The love of these women exists in the inhibiting patriarchal society with fixated class and gender-roles, therefore, the language of the film mostly assumes a vocally muted and musical tongue.

The film follows the ‘saying-without-saying-it’ formula wherein, its quiet and confined emotional expressions often accompany and sometimes replace the words in its world, which is anyway illusory, metaphorical and ironical.

img courtesy: imdb

The film follows the ‘saying-without-saying-it’ formula wherein, its quiet and confined emotional expressions often accompany and sometimes replace the words in its world, which is anyway illusory, metaphorical and ironical. Much of the film occupies immaculate interior spaces, with a sense of comfort and intimacy like the cars and the hotel rooms, reflecting the nature of relationship shared between Carol and Therese. In their relationship, the amateur innocence of a young Therese fits just perfectly with the dominative persona of an older Carol, which even through its complexities assumes a healthy, nurturing and maternal nature. The relationships Carol and Therese share with the men in their respective lives is about possessiveness and attainment. Contrastingly, the relationship shared between them is flows seamlessly, without any obstruction. Their love empowers them to go on a path of a progressive self-discovery and allows them the freedom of choice without any demands. This evolutionary journey of self and love co-exist throughout the film, extending beyond the screen and cementing itself into the lives of its viewers. Perhaps this is why, the subtle brilliance of Carol, a muted 1950s queer love story continues to enthral people.