MIT Lecture Series Committee

April 15 & 16, 2016

Rated R
118 minutes

view trailer

Carol (2015)

2015 Academy Award Nominations: Leading Actress (Cate Blanchett), Supporting Actress (Rooney Mara), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, Original Score

In this adaptation of the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Therese (Rooney Mara), a young department-store clerk in 1950s Manhattan, meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), a beautiful older woman stuck in a depressing marriage of convenience. As their bond deepens and they become romantically involved, Carol finds the strength to leave her husband (Kyle Chandler). Unfortunately, her spouse starts to raise questions about her fitness as a mother when he realizes that Carol's relationships with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) and Therese are more than just friendships. Directed by Todd Haynes. [www.allmovie.com]

This is about two people who didn't know what their lives were until they met each other, then scrambling, in their muted, buttoned-up way, to figure out what happens next. Haynes loves them so much that he believes they can. You will too.
      -- Will Leitch, The New Republic. Read this review.