7. Carol
If you put the right actor in a closeup, it is amazing how much emotional power can be generated. The actor in this case is Rooney Mara. Her character may not be the film’s namesake (that would be the equally exquisite Cate Blanchett), but this is her story, despite her having very few words. Director Todd Haynes wisely lets Mara’s face do the talking as it has the unbelievable ability to say volumes with the slightest shift of the eyes. This is also a love story between two women in the 1950s, a time where talking about this relationship in the open was forbidden, so the power of what is not said needs to hold weight. Gorgeously shot in 16mm, it allows for the ultimate expression of intimacy and rawness, and though the film is production designed to the nines, it is still Rooney Mara’s face makes Carol work.
Categories: Top Ten Lists
Reel Projection 