Monday 11 July 2016

Review: Carol (2015)

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My New Year’s resolution for the last few years has been to watch more movies. Resolutions are meant to be difficult, and take some effort to achieve, and this year has been the first year that I could confidently say I’ll do this without much effort, so I needed a new movie-related resolution for 2016. This year I’m resolving to move out of my comfort zone, and be more open to movies I’d never normally watch. And that’s how I found myself watching Carol.

Carol (2015) is the story of an unexpected love affair between Therese (Rooney Mara), a young woman working at a department store, dreaming of a career in photography, and Carol (Cate Blanchett), an older woman stuck in a loveless marriage and a difficult custody situation over her daughter.

Is this a period drama? I’ve just realised I’ve never actually understood the term. How many years ago does a movie need to be set before it’s classed that way? I’m going to learn something new today, that’s for sure. Anyway, that’s something I wanted to say. How the sets in Carol were beautiful. The department store in particular reminded me of the one in Brooklyn (the movie, not the place, although it was set there...you know what I mean) which put me at ease instantly. The costumes as well, were so well done and I found myself missing dialogue at some points because I was marvelling at everything else.

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This isn’t my kind of movie at all. I struggle with romance movies without the comedy element, and of course with the nature of the romance in Carol, there’s no leading man. So I was baffled when I found myself completely sucked into this story. I loved following Therese’s story, wondering whether she would leave her quiet life and love interest Richard (Jake Lacy) behind for a life with Carol. Equally, my heart sank when Carol’s husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) opened up a custody case for their daughter.

It even took a much darker turn and a twist I wasn’t expecting. It’s all thanks to the amazing job that Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett have done, and it’s a shame this year’s awards season looks so strong, as I’d love to see them both win for their work here.

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Something else I wanted to highlight in this movie is something I don’t normally notice, the music. It really stood out in Carol, and in 2 key moments. One I don’t want to mention because spoilers, but it burst out again at the ending, and it was so powerful it kind of gave me goosebumps!

So all in all, my New Year’s resolution is going well, and I’m really glad I gave Carol a chance. I don’t think I’m a fully converted fan of the genre yet, but I’ll certainly give more movies like this a chance.


6 comments:

  1. YAY!!! I'm so glad that you gave this a shot despite it not being your kind of film, and that you were pulled in by it's beautiful story. This was my #2 favorite film of last year (right behind Inside Out) and what a powerful experience this was.

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    1. It's actually grown on me ever more since I initially wrote this, it definitely deserved more attention at the Oscars!
      - Allie

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  2. You bring up an interesting point about "period dramas" I always think of them as Renaissance type films. You liked this one more than I did. I thought it was beautifully shot and acted, but the story wasn't that great for me. I didn't care for the book either, though I wanted to so badly. Nice write up!

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    1. Ooh, good point! I think maybe because I haven't seen much like Carol in the past, helped me to enjoy it more :)
      Glad to know the book isn't worth it though, which sounds odd but I want to cry every time I'm told 'the book is so much better' because I don't have the time to read them all, ha!
      - Allie

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  3. Totally agree with you that the score is AMAZING. I think the film is pretty much perfect, but all the craft elements (score, costumes, production design, etc.) are just above and beyond really. And don't get me started on how incredible the acting is. From EVERYONE (except Rooney Mara, who is only just excellent as opposed to ZOMG AMAZING lol).

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    1. It's got to be a good movie when the weakest performance is described as excellent, huh?! I want ZOMG AMAZING to be a technical blogging term, but I'd definitely end up overusing it haha!
      - Allie

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