Todd Haynes is a chameleon as a filmmaker. Anyone who can make “Safe,” “Velvet Goldmine,” and “Far From Heaven” demands respect for just how nimble and gifted they are, and his latest film, “Carol,” is another home run for him.
Adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel, “Carol” tells the story of a young woman named Therese Belivet, played by Rooney Mara, who meets an older customer, the preposterously elegant Carol Aird, played by Cate Blanchett. To say more about how things unfold from there would spoil the fun, but we have an exclusive clip from the film today for you.
Highsmith is one of my favorite authors, and I particularly love that she looked at the world in a way no one else did. Who else would have written a whole series of novels in which Tom Ripley was the lead? Who else could have come up with the deliciously sinister “Strangers On A Train”? She wrote about characters with a psychological sophistication, and Phyllis Nagy's remarkable adaptation of “The Price Of Salt” is just the latest example of how incredibly modern Highsmith's work still feels when treated with the right respect by the right filmmakers.
Impeccably photographed by Ed Lachman, “Carol” is a tactile pleasure, and it's that combination of fantastic performances, a ridiculously strong script, and filmmakers who are at the absolute top of their game that makes this such an impressive finished product.
“Carol” is in theaters now.