Thursday 21 January 2016

"Carol" Review.

Its probably for the best if I admit it right up front, from the shoulder, a goodly percentage of the reason that I ponied up the cash for a ticket to see "Carol was simple  prurienc e- I wanted to see Kate Blanchett "do" lesbian sex.- An admission which is rather sad in itself but which I had been able to justify to myself in various ways. The film had excellent reviews, a highly regarded director and was obviously not going to bea cheap perve, either to make, or to watch. In any event "Carol" promised to be an interesting experience, on several levels. First (which I should have expected) the course of true love does not run smooth Carol is in the process of divorcing a creepy bloodless vampire of a man who does his best to derail Carol's new life as much as possible. To give the film it's due I found myself frequently wishing that the character would simply drop dead and let the more pleasant aspects of the plot have free rein, Which is of coutse to bring us back to the core of the film; Carol (Kate Blanchett) a wealthy woman in the process of  a passionless divorce, meets  Therese Bliviet (Rooney Mara) when she serves her in a department store while she is christmas shopping. She is strogly (and beautifully minimistically) attracted to her By "Happy accident" they meet outside the store and inexorably a romantic connection develops between them. This part of the film is simply beautiful; Tentative, kind, light of touch and, from my personal experience, exactly like the first stages of a love affair. It made me feel quite nostalgic for happy times past One scene in particular tickled my fancy Therese (theyoung girl) sits at a piano and pick out a series of what sounded to me like random atonal notes there "proving " an inability to play. Carol, standing behind her listens and says "that's beautiful" with the rose-tinted ears of the early stage besotted. I giggled. I've been there, on both sides of the piano.

Carol's husband embrace's his inner arsehole and starts demanding sole custody of "their" child. This is the 1950's and women who love other women are opressed-disqualified from motherhood by reason of "low morals." Rather late in the day the film has found an axe to grind and grinds it with gusto- but mercifully, not for long. the film ends with long soulful glances that had this romantically amputated reviwer weeping with nostalgia and hope not unalloyed with simple wonder at the intensity of Kate Blanchett and Roony Mara's acting

Do I recommend Carol?Unreservedly- unless you are so sort of Christian/Muslim who has abandoned beauty and humanity for your sociopathic version of the "truth"-not that youu would haveread this far anyway  

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