Carol: Complex love

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy 
Rated: 7.5/10
Classified as a love story, this same-sex tag of a romance may sound over indulgent and groovy about lesbian encounters, especially when they are all unfolding in the forbidden age of the 1950s. But it has a story alright — and it’s all about the straight out of Vogue, rich, restless and seasoned Cate Blanchett (Carol) and the gauche, young, hesitant, middle-class salesgirl Rooney Mara (Terese) shacking up together in the face of stiff taboo.
The beauty of their slowly unfolding relationship spread around an expansive road trip to the West, is that it is both a counterfoil and a complement in equal measure. Blanchett is more than extra-ordinary in her role of a much married mother of one who has had same-sex flings before, the ultimate lady of the world in her brown fur, red lipstick and a swagger so unique that you might just give her the Oscar for Best Actress.
But then there is Rooney Mara, too, who has the most arresting pair of sparkling, naive eyes and a demeanour so enchantingly hesitant that you would think she deserves much more than a supporting actress statuette this year.
Whoever, whatever, but the two together compel you to overcome your reservations about lesbianism if you have any, and start seeing what the film is all for — a love so enduring, so complex, so out of sync with the times and so inevitable that you support it with all your might. 
Source: Sunday Pioneer, 28 February, 2016

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