Carol
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Todd Haynes
Screenplay by	Phyllis Nagy
Produced by	Elizabeth Karlsen Stephen Woolley Christine Vachon
Starring	Cate Blanchett Rooney Mara Sarah Paulson Kyle Chandler Jake Lacy
Cinematography	Edward Lachman
Edited by	Affonso Gonçalves
Music by	Carter Burwell
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company StudioCanal
Release dates	May 17, 2015 (2015-05-17) (Cannes) November 20, 2015 (2015-11-20) (United States) November 27, 2015 (2015-11-27) (United Kingdom)
Running time	118 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$11.8 million[1]
Box office	$29.2 million[2]

Carol is a 2015 British-American romantic drama film directed by Todd Haynes, from a screenplay by Phyllis Nagy, based on the novel The Price of Salt (also known as Carol) by Patricia Highsmith. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, and Jake Lacy. Set in 1952 in New York City, the film explores the relationship between a young aspiring photographer and an older woman going through a difficult divorce.

Carol was in development for over 11 years by British producers of Number 9 Films and Film4 Productions. The film is co-produced by New York-based Killer Films. Principal photography began in March 2014, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and lasted 34 days. The film was shot on Super 16 mm. Carol was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where Mara tied for the Best Actress award. The film has received critical acclaim. It opened in limited release on November 20, 2015 in the United States, and was released in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2015.

Plot

In 1952, Therese Belivet, a temporary shopgirl and aspiring photographer, is working in Frankenberg's department store in Manhattan during the Christmas season. She sees a glamorous woman across the room looking at a model train set display. Based on Therese's recommendation, the woman, Carol Aird, purchases a set for her daughter as a Christmas present. Carol engages Therese in friendly conversation and when she departs accidentally leaves her gloves behind. Therese takes the gloves home and, using Frankenberg’s sales slip with Carol's name and address, mails them to her.

Therese's boyfriend, Richard, wants her to go to France with him and hopes they will marry, but she feels ambivalent about their relationship. A mutual friend, Dannie, invites Therese to his workplace, The New York Times, offering to introduce her to a photo-editor friend. During her visit, Dannie seizes the opportunity to kiss her. Therese lets him, but becomes uncomfortable and leaves. Meanwhile, Carol is going through a difficult divorce from her neglectful husband, Harge, with whom she has a young daughter, Rindy. Carol calls the store to thank Therese for returning the gloves and invites her to lunch. The two find themselves intrigued with one another. Carol then invites Therese to her home in New Jersey for Christmas. Carol stops to purchase a Christmas tree and Therese takes candid photos of her. Harge arrives unexpectedly to take Rindy to Florida with him and becomes suspicious of Therese because Carol had an affair years before with her best friend, Abby. Therese witnesses their argument and, after Rindy is gone, a distressed Carol takes Therese to the train station and Therese returns home.

Carol later calls to apologize and the two agree to meet at Therese's apartment, where Carol surprises her with a gift: a Canon camera and film. Carol had learned that Harge is petitioning the judge to consider a "morality clause" against her, threatening to expose her homosexuality and give him full custody of Rindy. She decides to take a road trip West to escape the stress of her divorce proceedings and invites Therese along. Richard, feeling threatened, accuses Therese of having a crush on Carol and predicts that she will soon grow tired of Therese. The two argue and their relationship comes to an end. Therese and Carol depart on their trip. On the second night together in a motel, Therese meets a traveling salesman, Tommy Tucker.

On New Year's Eve, in a motel room in Waterloo, Iowa, Carol kisses Therese for the first time. The two finally acknowledge their strong feelings for each other and make love. The next morning they discover that the salesman they met is actually a private investigator hired by Harge to obtain evidence against Carol. Carol confronts Tucker, threatening him at gunpoint, but his secret tape recordings have already been sent to Harge. The next day, Therese learns that Carol has flown to New York during the night to fight for custody of her daughter, having asked Abby to drive Therese home. Back in New York, Therese telephones Carol, but knowing that she cannot continue her relationship with Therese if she wants any chance to see Rindy again, Carol remains silent and hangs up, leaving Therese in tears.

Therese creates a portfolio of her photos and gets a job at The New York Times, partly based on those she took of Carol. Carol has been seeing a psychotherapist as a condition of the divorce settlement. During a confrontational meeting with both lawyers present, Carol suddenly admits the truth of what the tapes contained and refuses to deny her own nature. Not wanting the legal battle to make a mess of their child's life, she tells Harge that he can have permanent custody of Rindy, but demands regular visits with her even if supervised. She tells Harge that if he were to contest her offer it would get ugly and they were not "ugly people."

Carol writes to Therese asking to see her, and they meet in the lounge of the Ritz Tower Hotel. Carol reveals she is going to work as a buyer for a furniture house and has taken an apartment on Madison Avenue. She says the apartment is big enough for two and hopes Therese might like to live with her. Therese declines and a silence hangs between them. Carol informs Therese that she will be meeting associates from the furniture house in the Oak Room and if she changes her mind they can have dinner. Therese remains still and Carol whispers, "I love you." The moment is interrupted by a colleague, Jack, who had not seen Therese in months. Carol rises to leave and touches Therese's shoulder before walking away.

Therese accepts Jack's invitation to a party, where she finds that she cannot socially connect with anyone despite the interest of another woman there. She rushes to the Oak Room. Therese enters, scans the crowd, then sees Carol at a table at the rear of the room. Their eyes lock. Carol tilts her head, with a knowing smile that grows as Therese moves toward her.

Cast

• Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird
• Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet
• Sarah Paulson as Abby Gerhard
• Kyle Chandler as Harge Aird
• Jake Lacy as Richard Semco
• Cory Michael Smith as Tommy Tucker
• John Magaro as Dannie McElroy
• Carrie Brownstein as Genevieve Cantrell

Production

Development

Carol is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1952 semi-autobiographical romance novel The Price of Salt. The novel was originally published under the pseudonym "Claire Morgan" after Highsmith's publisher Harper & Brothers rejected it, and republished in 1990 as Carol, under Highsmith's name.^[3][4][5] The character of Therese Belivet is based on Highsmith herself, after an encounter she had with a blonde woman in a fur coat, Kathleen Senn, while working at Bloomingdale's in New York City in 1948. Senn was the template for the character of Carol. The night Highsmith met Senn, she wrote an eight-page outline for the novel.^[6] Carol was also based on Highsmith's former lover Virginia Kent Catherwood, a Philadelphia socialite who had lost custody of her child in a high-profile divorce involving secret tape recordings of her and her female lover used in court.^[6]

The film was in development for more than 11 years by Film4 Productions and Number 9 Films.^[4][7] Phyllis Nagy, who was a friend of Highsmith, wrote the first draft of the script in 1996.^[8][9] Highsmith had suggested to Nagy she adapt one of her novels.^[10] According to Nagy, Highsmith was not confident that the novel could be made into a "satisfying" film because of its "intense, subjective point of view".^[11] Nagy decided to adapt the script to ensure its fidelity to the source material, remarking, "I felt a strange responsibility to take it, and to make sure that it wasn’t screwed up in some fundamental way, because she so disliked many of the screen adaptations of her work."^[12] British producer Elizabeth Karlsen of Number 9 Films came across Nagy's screenplay in 2004. Nagy had spent 14 years trying to get the film made prior to Karlsen convincing Highsmith's estate to sign over the copyright to her in 2011.^[4]

One of the challenges of adapting the novel was translating the subjective and limited third-person viewpoint whereby Carol is largely seen through Therese's fanatical prism.^[14] Nagy was initially apprehensive of the narrative structure, considering "there's no character of Carol. She's a ghost appropriately, as she should be, in the novel", adding that she was "overwhelmed by the task of trying to come up with the visual equivalent for it structurally."^[13] Nagy decided to split the point of view and shift perspectives from Therese to Carol, as "the point of view is always with the more vulnerable party". She made Therese a photographer instead of a set designer, allowing her "to be seen moving from objects to people", which Nagy likened to Highsmith as Therese is a "clear stand-in" for the author.^[14] Nagy had freedom in "inventing a life for [Carol], for whom, basically, we knew the outline of what was going on." Once Nagy was able to dig into and understand the inner life of the character of Carol, her motivations given the circumstances, then the character became easy to write.^[13]

Nagy realized she would "pass time in a different way" to the novel, eliminating elements that were unnecessary and slowed down the story in the screenplay. She had "great freedom" developing the screenplay in England while no studio or director was attached and it was just her and the producer. Over the years, five "proper" drafts of the screenplay materialized.^[13] Nagy said that when Haynes came on board they had discussions about "what became the framing device"; Haynes was intrigued by films like Brief Encounter and suggested they try a framing device, which Nagy "then ran with in a certain way." "He was interested in the same things, tonally, that the script was interested in - which isn't always the case", she noted. "We were able to keep that restraint going".^[13]

At the BFI London Film Festival, Nagy said she titled the film Carol, not The Price of Salt, because Highsmith herself had changed the title to Carol when the novel was republished, and she also "liked the sort of strange, obsessive nature of calling it by someone's name." There were later other discussions with Haynes.^[15] Haynes said that the film is called Carol because the novel "is locked into the subjectivity of the younger woman" and Carol is "really the object of desire in the story." "There’s an element of, something aloof ... something unsettled about [her], that puts Therese and these new feelings...on edge throughout much of the film. That relationship of who’s the object and who’s the subject does shift in the story, but it made sense ultimately that that would be the name for the film.”^[16] On the universality of the story, Haynes said that the "real determining question is not whether society will accept [Therese's] feelings or not; it’s, will this person return her love or not? ... that is what transcends the class of love, or the period in which it’s occurring".^[17]

Pre-production

In May 2012, it was announced that John Crowley would direct the film, set to star Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska, as Carol and Therese, respectively. Number 9 Film's Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley would produce, along with Film4 Productions' Tessa Ross, executive producer who co-developed the project with Karlsen and Woolley.^[18][19][20] In May 2013, Todd Haynes signed on to direct, replacing Crowley, who withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. Haynes' collaborator, Christine Vachon of Killer Films, was set to co-produce the film.^[21]

Todd Haynes first heard about the film in 2012 from costume designer Sandy Powell, who informed Haynes that Blanchett was attached and Karlsen was producing. Blanchett, who is an executive producer on the film, had been attached to the project for "a really long time".^[22][23] Haynes learned they were looking for a director in 2013, when Karlsen asked his collaborator Christine Vachon if he would be interested in the project. Haynes regarded the story, its historical and social context, and collaborating again with Blanchett as motivating factors for his involvement.^[24][25][26] In August 2013, it was reported that Rooney Mara had replaced Wasikowska, who had dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.^[27][28] Mara said she was offered the role of Therese after completing the 2011 film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; although she loved the script and wanted to work with Blanchett, she did not sign on due to feeling weary from the Dragon Tattoo experience. By the time Haynes came on board she was "in a much different head space" and signing on to the project was "a no brainer at that point."^[28][29]

Haynes collaborated with Nagy on fine-tuning the screenplay, and with Blanchett on a dramaturgical level.^[8][30][31] In rehearsal, Haynes, Blanchett and Mara realized certain lines that either character did not need to say should be cut, which Haynes deemed the "stylistic practice that we all took throughout the creative departments. I feel there was an understanding with them that words and dialogue were never carrying the weight of the story."^[17]

In January 2014, Carter Burwell was hired to compose the music for the film.^[32] Sarah Paulson was cast as Abby, a close friend of Carol, and Kyle Chandler was cast as Harge, Carol's husband.^[33][34] The following month, Cory Michael Smith was cast as Tommy, a charming traveling salesman, and Jake Lacy joined the cast as Richard, Therese's boyfriend.^[35][36] In April 2014, John Magaro was cast as Dannie, a writer who works at The New York Times.^[37] Carrie Brownstein then joined the cast, playing the role of Genevieve Cantrell, a woman who has an encounter with Therese.^[38] Edward Lachman, who had previously collaborated with Haynes, served as the director of photography.^[39]

Costume Designer Sandy Powell said of working with Haynes "Todd is super visual, super prepared and he provides his own visuals at the beginning of the film. He starts with a look book of images that he’s compiled over the months and months. He’s almost OCD about it. In a good way." ^[40]

Filming

In December 2013, it was announced that Carol would be filmed in Cincinnati, Ohio, and production offices would open in early January 2014, with filming expected from mid-March through May.^[41] Principal photography began on March 12, 2014, at Eden Park in Cincinnati.^[39][42] Various locations around Cincinnati, Ohio were used during filming, including Downtown Cincinnati, Hyde Park, Over-the-Rhine, Wyoming, Cheviot, and Hamilton, as well as Alexandria, Kentucky.^{[43][44][45][46]} The film was shot in 34 days.^[47] Filming was completed on April 25, 2014.^[43] Edward Lachman shot the film on Super 16 mm.^[48]

Post-production

On December 15, 2014, Haynes confirmed deliverables were completed.^[49] In early 2015, Brownstein told Paste Magazine that most of her scenes were cut due to the film's length.^[50] In November 2015, Paulson told Collider that a key scene between her character and Mara's, as well as a scene with Blanchett, were cut from the film.^[51]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes the original score by Carter Burwell and additional music performed by The Clovers, Billie Holiday, Georgia Gibbs, Les Paul and Mary Ford, and Jo Stafford. Songs not featured on the soundtrack include "Willow Weep for Me" performed by Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks Orchestra, "A Garden in the Rain" performed by The Four Aces, "Perdido" performed by Woody Herman, "That's the Chance You Take" by Eddie Fisher, "Slow Poke" by Pee Wee King, and "Why Don't You Believe Me" performed by Patti Page.^[52]

The soundtrack for the film was released in both digital download and physical formats on November 20, 2015, by Varèse Sarabande.^[53]

Release

In May 2013, The Weinstein Company acquired United States distribution rights to the film.^[54] The first official image from Carol, released by Film4, appeared in the London Evening Standard in May 2014.^[7] Despite being completed in late 2014, producers withheld the film until 2015 to benefit from a film festival launch.^[49] A second image from the film was released in January 2015.^[55] The first poster for the film was released in September 2015.^[56]

The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.^[57][58] It made its North American debut at the Telluride Film Festival, and screened at the New York Film Festival.^[59][60] The film premiered in the UK as the BFI London Film Festival’s Gala event on October 14, 2015.^[61] It opened in limited release in the United States on November 20, 2015.^[62] Carol was given a platform release in the US. The film continued playing in four NY and LA theaters until December 11, when it expanded to a few more markets and 15 to 20 theaters. On Christmas Day, it expanded to the top 50 film markets, playing about 150 theaters, and expanded further after Christmas and New Year’s Day. At a point between January 8 and 15, the film will be on anywhere from 500 to 700 locations.^[63][64] The film was released in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2015.^[65]

In December 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Russian distribution company Arthouse had acquired distribution rights to release the film in Russia in March 2016. The CEO of Arthouse said that it is a "huge challenge" because of the "federal 'gay propaganda' law that victimizes the Russian LGBT community", and such law "will prevent Carol to be sold to major TV channels or even being advertised on federal networks". He noted that "some cinemas will refuse to book the film", but "the controversy around the LGBT issues will help us market Carol to the right audience", adding that it is a film about "a relationship, it’s a story of forbidden love" and he believes it will "appeal to the public way beyond the LGBT community."^[66] In January 2016, ABC refused to air a commercial for the film featuring a snippet of the love scene between Carol and Therese, causing The Weinstein Company to re-edit the television trailer.^[67][68]

Reception

Critical reception

Carol received a rapturous response, including a standing ovation, at its Cannes Film Festival international press screening and premiere. Critics particularly lauded Haynes' direction, Blanchett and Mara's performances, the cinematography, costumes and score, and deemed it a strong contender for a Cannes award.^[69] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 93% approval rating based on reviews from 203 critics, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states: "Shaped by Todd Haynes' deft direction and powered by a strong cast led by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, Carol lives up to its groundbreaking source material."^[70] Carol was named the best-reviewed romance film of 2015 in Rotten Tomatoes' annual Golden Tomato Awards.^[71] On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 95/100 based on 44 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[72] Carol is Metacritic's best reviewed film of 2015.^[73]

Box office

As of February 7, 2016^[update], Carol has grossed $11.8 million in North America and $17.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $29.2 million.^[2] In the United States, the film began its limited run on November 20 at four theaters − The Paris Theater and Angelika Theater in New York City and the ArcLight Hollywood and Landmark Theater in Los Angeles − and was projected to earn around $50,000 per theater.^[74] The film grossed $253,510 in its opening weekend at the four locations, the best opening of Haynes' films. Its per theater average of $63,378 was the third biggest of 2015.^[63][75] In its second weekend, the film grossed $203,076, with a "robust" per location average of $50,769, the best of the week, bringing its nine-day cumulative from the four theaters to $588,355.^[76] In its third weekend at the four locations, Carol earned $147,241, averaging an "impressive" $36,810, the highest for the third week in a row.^[77]

The film expanded from four to 16 theaters in its fourth week, and it was projected to average an estimated $10,000 over the weekend.^[78] In its fourth weekend, it grossed $338,624, averaging $21,105, and bringing its United States cumulative total to $1.2 million.^[79] The film was projected to earn an estimated $218,000 from 16 theaters in its fifth weekend. It grossed $231,137, averaging $14,446 per theater.^[80][81] Carol then expanded from 16 to 180 theaters.^[82][83] In it sixth weekend, the film made $1.1 million, with a $6,075 average across 180 locations; its United States total gross was $2.9 million, with a worldwide gross of $7.8 million from seven other territories.^[84][85] Carol crossed $5 million in the United States in its seventh weekend. Expanding to 189 theaters, the film grossed $1.2 million, with a $6,429 average, indicating positive word-of-mouth, according to Deadline.^[86] In the United Kingdom, the film earned $812,000 in its opening weekend from 206 screens.^[87] As of January 31, 2016, Carol has grossed $3.7 million in the UK.^[88]

Accolades

Carol has received over 100 industry and critics nominations and over 40 awards. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Queer Palm and Mara tied for the Best Actress award with Emmanuelle Bercot.^[89][90] The American Film Institute selected Carol as one of the Top Ten Films of the year.^[91] The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay.^[92] It garnered five Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director for Haynes, Best Actress for Blanchett and Mara, and Best Original Score for Burwell.^[93] It received nine BAFTA Award nominations, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Adapted Screenplay.^[94] It was nominated for six Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay for Nagy, Best Female Lead for Blanchett and Mara, and Best Cinematography for Lachman.^[95] Blanchett and Mara received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, respectively.^[96]

The New York Film Critics Circle awarded Carol Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.^[97] The film won Best Music from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and was runner-up for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.^[98] The National Society of Film Critics awarded Haynes Best Director and Lachman Best Cinematography.^[99] Haynes and Lachman also received the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director and Best Cinematography.^[100] The film received nine nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.^[101] The Frankfurt Book Fair named Carol the Best International Literary Adaptation.^[102]

Carol appeared in over 130 Top Ten lists of Best Films of 2015 by critics and publications.^{[n 1]} Metacritic ranked the film as the third most mentioned in critics' Top Ten lists.^[111] The film topped Variety's film critics' Best Films of 2015 poll.^[103] Film Comment magazine ranked Carol as the best film of 2015 based on its year-end poll of over 100 film critics.^[104] Carol was ranked second on Sight & Sound Best Films of 2015 critics' poll, voted on by 168 film critics.^[105] The film also came in second place on the Village Voice Film Critics' Poll, voted on by over 125 film critics, and Indiewire's critics' poll of best films, voted on by over 200 film critics.^[106][107]

Response to Academy Award omissions

The omission of Carol from the Academy Awards' Best Picture and Best Director categories prompted further discussion from journalists on a lack of diversity in Oscar nominations and the Academy's overall indifference toward female-centric and LGBTQ-centric films.^{[112][113][114][115]} Nate Scott in USA Today, called its absence "the standout snub" of the ceremony, "one made all the more ridiculous because of the bloated Best Picture field".^[116] At HitFix, Louis Virtel suggested that Academy members' reception of the film was hurt by its focus on independent women, citing how other critically-aclaimed "female-centric" films such as 45 Years and Inside Out were also left out. Virtel also noted that the two female-led films nominated for Best Picture, Brooklyn and Room, are "movies about women who are thinking about men, whether they're dashing Italian paramours, a horrifying kidnapper, or a precocious son". As Carol is "about characters who actively flout the presence of men in their lives ... [The film's] strident interest in female inner-life and how it doesn't relate to men is still more radical."^[117]

Among those with similar sentiments were Matthew Jacobs of The Huffington Post, who felt that the Academy's artistic tastes were "too conventional to recognize its brilliance",^[118] and Nico Lang of The A.V. Club, who noted that despite the film being considered a "lock" for a Best Picture nomination, the omission "shouldn’t have been a major shock" given the controversy over Brokeback Mountain's loss a decade earlier:

"To date, a queer-themed movie has still never won Best Picture, and those that do receive any kind of recognition prominently feature queer suffering ... The reason that Carol is unique and extraordinary is likewise the exact reason that the Academy didn’t deem it Best Picture-worthy. Patricia Highsmith’s The Price Of Salt was a landmark work of LGBT fiction, not just because it was published in 1952 (a time many Americans were unaware lesbians even existed) but because it didn’t punish its star-crossed lovers for their desires ... [the novel] leaves the door open for a happy ending ... What makes stories like the romance portrayed in Carol isn’t the ecstasy of queer agony but that that there were real women like Carol Aird and Therese Belivet."^[119]

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair proposed that although its "themes of passion and heartache may be universal" the film may be "too gay", speaking "in a vernacular that, I’d guess, only queer people are fully fluent in." However, he juxtaposed that notion with the foreign scenarios of several Best Picture nominees, such as the bear attack and epic revenge of The Revenant, the seven-year sequestering in Room, or being stranded on Mars in The Martian. Lawson stated that the film's lack of "gushing melodrama" put it at a disadvantage as "loud and insisting tends to triumph over quiet and introspective".^[120] Dorothy Snarker of Indiewire attributed the omissions to the Academy's demographics. Snarker agreed with Lawson that Carol may be too gay and too female "for the largely old white male voting base" to connect with, as its "quiet, sophisticated ... mid-century romance focuses entirely on the unstoppable attraction between two women where neither has the decency to sleep with a man, suffer tragically or die at the end". Snarker also considered that the LGBT rights movement’s successes in the U.S. may be partly responsible for the lack of "political urgency" around the film, as when Brokeback Mountain was released in 2005, people could "pat themselves on the back for sitting through 'that movie where the cowboys do it."^[121] Writing for Paper magazine, Carey O'Donnell similarly noted that gay romances are only "Oscar surefires" when they use the tragedy/desolation equation. Brokeback Mountain's depiction of a "doomed" relationship that "ends as violently sad for viewers as the violence that physically destroys their earthly bond" is "entertaining, in the most ghoulish sense", O'Donnell remarked. "There's inherent condescension from the mainstream world, compelled by a story like Brokeback ... So when a gay romantic relationship is depicted on the screen, it's only natural that people - including, apparently, the Academy - can only make sense of it if it ends in misery."^[122]

Marcie Bianco of Quartz noted that the film is "centered around women’s desire" and Haynes structured it in a way that "elevates the power of women’s gaze"; in that regard, "Carol flips convention: men’s roles are marginal and antagonistic, while women and their desires wield power ... allocated and harnessed by women—by their gaze, and by their actions—for each other." When it comes to women, Bianco observed, "it seems the Academy primarily recognizes their anger at the violence enacted upon them and their trauma" and "while they do fight back, [women] are the victims." The omission of Carol from Best Picture, Bianco concluded, illustrates "yet again how sexism operates in the world, and in the Academy specifically, as the refusal to see women as protagonists and agents of desire."^[123]

Jason Bailey of Flavorwire pointed out that most Best Picture nominees that include gay themes "put them firmly in the realm of subplots", and most often the actors are nominated, not the film. Since Brokeback Mountain, "we’ve seen Best Picture nominations for The Kids Are All Right and Dallas Buyers Club – though in both of those cases, the primary audience surrogate was arguably a straight man ... [and] Milk and The Imitation Game, both stories about gay men who met with tragedy." "Carol's most transgressive quality", Bailey declared, "is its refusal to engage in such shenanigans; this is a film about full-blooded gay lives, not tragic gay deaths."^[124] David Ehrlich of Rolling Stone commented that the film's "patience and precision" did not conform to Academy tastes, but its legacy "will doubtlessly survive this year's most egregious snub".^[125]

See also

• New Queer Cinema
• List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films of 2015
• List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related films by storyline

References

Further reading

• Extras, 1950s cars needed for 'Carol' movie. John Kiesewetter, Cincinnati.com, February 6, 2014
• Film Review: 'Carol'. Justin Chang, Variety, May 16, 2015
• Academy Conversations: Carol. Oscars (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), YouTube, November 16, 2015
• The Act of Looking: Todd Haynes on "Carol". Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com, November 17, 2015
• Loving Carol. Frank Rich, New York Magazine, November 18, 2015
• Carol. Jeff Reichert, Reverse Shot, November 18, 2015
• Review: Carol. Amy Taubin, Film Comment, November 19, 2015
• Review: 'Carol' Explores the Sweet Science of Magnetism. A.O. Scott, The New York Times, November 19, 2015
• The beautiful and thrilling 'Carol' belongs among the best movie love stories. Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times, November 19, 2015
• Carol's Happy Ending. Louis Jordan, Slate, November 19, 2015
• Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara faced 'secrets ... forbidden topics ... taboos' in the world of 'Carol'. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, November 20, 2015
• The Brilliant Subversiveness of 'Carol's' Conventional Ending. Moze Halperin, Flavorwire, November 23, 2015
• "Carol" Offers A Rare Ending For A Lesbian Romance. Kate Aurthur, BuzzFeed, November 25, 2015
• Carol review – Cate Blanchett superb in a five-star tale of forbidden love. Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, November 26, 2015
• Carol review: 'Cate Blanchett will slay you'. Tim Robey, The Telegraph, November 26, 2015
• "Carol" Up Close. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, November 30, 2015
• Carol – Q&A with Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Phyllis Nagy, and Todd Haynes. National Board of Review, November 30, 2015
• Edward Lachman Shares His Secrets For Shooting Todd Haynes' 'Carol'. Edward Lachman, Indiewire, December 3, 2015
• 'Carol' is a stunning drama about forbidden romance in 1950s America: review. Peter Howell, Toronto Star, December 10, 2015
• Carol and What It Was Really Like to Be a Lesbian in the 1950s. George Cotkin, TIME. December 10, 2015.
• Love Is the Plot. Francine Prose, The New York Review of Books, December 11, 2015
• 5 Minutes With Carol Costume Designer Sandy Powell. Jennifer Berry, Flare, December 11, 2015
• Film of the week: Carol. Kate Stables, Sight & Sound, December 2015 (online: December 14, 2015)
• In 'Carol,' standout performers include the director. Ty Burr, Boston Globe, December 23, 2015
• Contender – Editor Affonso Gonçalves, Carol. Mary Ann Skweres, Below The Line, January 6, 2016
• The Lesbian Gaze Of 'Carol'. Natalie Wilson, The Establishment, January 7, 2016
• Carol review: Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara excel as love story veers towards obsession. Paul Byrnes, The Sydney Morning Herald, January 13, 2016
• Blanchett and Mara soar in an exquisite romance. Mark Naglazas, The West Australian, January 14, 2016
• Why Did Carol Get Shut Out of Oscar’s Biggest Categories?. Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair, January 14, 2016
• The nearness of you – Carol and the cine-poetics of love. Joanna Di Mattia, In A Lonely Place, January 21, 2016

External links

• Official website
• Carol at IMDb
• The Price of Salt, or Carol by Patricia Highsmith (W. W. Norton, 2004)