Carol (2015) is a period drama film that stars Cate Blanchett as the lead character and Rooney Mara as Therese. The full-length romantic drama is based on the classic queer novel The Price of Salt (1952) by Patricia Highsmith (who also wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955)) The story centers on the two women as they carefully construct a same-sex affair, hoping to keep their love away from the prying and judgmental eyes of the world around them. The characters both carry the style of 1950s New York, with shorter-styled hair. Carol wears her blonde bob with curls and is often seen in high-end winter fashion in bright colors with chic accessories, like gloves and a beret. Therese, on the other hand, has a bit more of a youthful tilt to her style, with brown hair in a bob with straight bangs, often wearing a headband and more muted turtlenecks and skirts — akin to what was often seen on the Beat scene in Greenwich Village at the time.
While most of the films and television focusing on bi characters in the past decade or so of burgeoning bi media has been filled with contemporary characters, Carol focuses with a watchmaker’s precision on how queer women would have realistically tried to carve out lives for themselves in 1950s America. The film starts with a reminder of the House of Un-American Activities Committee snaking its way through the culture of the time, often using someone’s homosexuality as a weapon to take down their reputation and rain real-life consequences on their lives. That said, there is still a delicate through-line here of perennial flirt culture techniques (double entendres, a leave-behind, subtle asking if Therese has a boyfriend) that any modern dating person can recognize. It’s also refreshing that, while on one hand, we have Therese essentially going through a queer awakening, Carol is comfortable in her bisexuality – she feels no guilt in her attractions, only fear about if this will affect custody rights with her daughter. It’s also clear from her dance with her husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler), that there was love and attraction there in the past, but that is no longer true.
The growth and relationship between Carol and Therese are fascinating to watch. Yes, there is an age gap, but they are both fully consenting adults. There is a difference in the social cache, however, with Carol having the upper hand – but since she is a queer woman in this world, for all her privileges, she has a lot more to lose in this dynamic. Their relationship is ultimately gentle and tender and a joy to watch unfold.
While there are plenty of tragic period films out there about queer folks (often ending with #KillYourGays), Carol stands out as a highly stylized but ultimately happy period film and a fascinating piece of bi representation for the era it represents. Also, it makes for a surprisingly good queer Christmas film.