A perfect marriage of director and material, I can't think of anyone else but Todd Haynes for this story of love and desire blossoming in a desert of repression. Set in the era of the McCarthy witchhunts and the post-war obsession with - one might as well call it panic about- gender roles, CAROL is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel. Playwright Phyllis Nagy's screenplay pays Highsmith the compliment of maintaining the psychological conflicts and complexities. In particular, the character of Carol's conventional husband, Harge (played by Kyle Chandler) could have, in lesser hands, received much shorter shrift than here.
Beautifully photographed, designed, edited, scored and acted, there's no reason to give it anything less than full marks. I was completely engrossed by it from start to finish.
Beautifully photographed, designed, edited, scored and acted, there's no reason to give it anything less than full marks. I was completely engrossed by it from start to finish.