Carol

In 1950s New York, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), an aspiring photographer in her 20s working as a department-store clerk, falls for an older, married woman, Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett). The subtle fascination flowers into passion and a socially suspect liaison that devours victims from both sides. Haynes eschews sensationalism and obvious romantic themes to show a bond between the two women [that] plays out as elegantly as the period dressing surrounding them,as noted by IndieWire in a dispatch from Cannes. Carol is in fact an impeccable living postcard from a world gone by. Titillating costumes, production design, music and phenomenal cinematography by Ed Lachman simmer on the screen through living streets, clubs, stores and fashion from Eisenhower-era Manhattan. While Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt, on which the script is based, accentuates lesbian and feminist themes, the film is more universal. Haynes shares a story about the price we pay for passion and following our heart, irrespective of gender and sexual orientation.