Carol

A young shop assistant, Therese (Rooney Mara), falls for a well to do, somewhat mysterious woman, Carol (Cate Blanchett).

Stories of forbidden love are as old as Shakespeare yet so many film makers manage to carve out some new material from the old muse. With Carol, Todd Haynes adapts the Patricia Highsmith novel The Price of Salt with his unique visual style, giving us a gentle but poignant take on the book.

Blanchett and Mara shine as the two leads, the former in particular giving a stellar performance. It’s easy to see why Therese falls head over heels for Carol - everyone in the audience does too. She’s sultry, alluring and intelligent, yet clearly hiding from something.

Carol is an aesthetic treat. The cinematography, direction and costumes are beautiful; Haynes demonstrates a real love for his work.

Perhaps the film loses its way at times, but never for long; it’s a beautiful and heartfelt piece of work. I would be very surprised to see this one snubbed at the Oscars.