Review: Carol (2015)

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.

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.

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.

TV Review: Girls Season 5

Last weekend brought the Season 5 finale of HBO’s Girls, in a double whammy that I wasn’t expecting, nor mentally prepared for. Now, I love the fact that Girls doesn’t stretch their Seasons out across an entire year like too many shows, but ten half an hour long episodes just isn’t enough for me! I was already mourning the fact that next week would be it for a year, but then both episodes came out at once and whilst one part of me thought I could save Episode 10 for next week, I also needed to consume both episodes as quickly as possible.

I only actually got into Girls last November, when I was on the hunt for a new show and heard it mentioned in too many places to ignore it. On the face of it, Girls should never have been a show I could enjoy as much as I do. It follows the lives of four girls (funnily enough) living in New York, struggling to find their places in the world. A world I’m very much not a part of. Maybe escapism is what I get from it. Either way, the second I saw Lena Dunham’s character Hannah eating a huge piece of cake whilst in the bath, I was hooked. I can relate to this girl in at least one way!

Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching it ‘real time’, but Season 5 has definitely been one of the best. I haven’t been happy with every storyline, but when an episode can focus entirely on my least favourite character (looking at you, Marnie) and be the most memorable, then something’s being done right for sure! I hated the way Hannah and Adam’s relationship was left at the end of Season 4, so I was dying to find out what would happen. Here’s what - it got torn out of my chest and ripped to shreds. 

I’ve got to start with the rollercoaster of emotions that is Jessa (Jemima Kirke) and Adam’s (Adam Driver) relationship. I’ve always been flying the flag for Hannah and Adam so I was absolutely not cool with this development, until their date at the fair, which was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever watched. Big thumbs down at the way Jessa treated Hannah over it all though. Not cool! Also not cool? Jessa and Adam’s fight in the final episode. I didn’t know whether to laugh or be absolutely terrified. Anyone questioning the casting choice of Kylo Ren need look no further, here! This has got to be the beginning of the end for them, surely?

Poor Shosh (Zosia Mamet)! It’s such a shame things didn’t work out for her in Japan, she seemed right at home there. Now that she’s back, I was half hoping she would turn Ray’s (Alex Karpovsky) coffee shop into a cat cafe, but she’s turning the place round, regardless. I’ve had my fingers crossed for a Shosh and Ray reunion for a while, and then Ray went and followed Marnie (Allison Williams) on tour. Ray! What are you doing, man?!

Marnie has been the character I’ve loved to hate. She’s so self absorbed she can’t see what’s happening around her, and yet some of the things she comes out with are absolutely hilarious, like her surprise that people still get mugged. When she walked away from Charlie mid-season, I had such high hopes for her. She was going to leave Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and realised she can’t spend her life trying to fix broken men. Of course, she ruined all those good feelings I had in the very next episode. Oh, Marnie…

And then there was Hannah. Hannah is controversial at the best of times, but she’s been really pushing the mark this Season. From showing her lady parts to her boss to forcing herself on Ray, it’s been hard to defend her. Yet in the final two episodes, she grew so much. She’s quit the job she neither enjoyed or was very good at, and re-discovered her passion for writing, which she is bloody amazing at! Her changed attitude towards Jessa and Adam was so grown up of her, but my heart breaks when I think about what she must have heard Adam shout about her. I honestly don’t think there’s a chance for them, now. I’ll still hold onto the hope they can become good friends by the end of the last Season though, they bounced off each other so well.

That finale was just so perfect that it felt like the actual final finale to the whole show. I’d have almost been okay with that, but I still have so many unanswered questions. Last year brings the final Season, though. Sadface!