Carol

Carol (2015) is adapted from Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel, whose place in literary history matters independently of the film. Highsmith published it under the pseudonym Claire Morgan. The reason was plain: she did not want to be labelled a writer of lesbian books. The book's real distinction is its ending. Until then novels with homosexual characters ended in death, madness or repentance; publishers would not print anything else. The Price of Salt is regarded as the first lesbian novel with a happy ending. The story is set in New York in 1952. Therese works the toy counter in a department store. A wealthy woman named Carol comes in to buy something for her daughter and leaves her gloves on the counter. Todd Haynes builds the film on glass and reflection. We almost always see the two women through a window, a car windscreen or some obstruction. Looking feels like something done without permission. It was shot on Super 16mm, and the grain was kept deliberately so the image resembles photographs of the period. The custody case over Carol's daughter supplies the tension: a woman's sexuality is used as a question of morality in court. It runs 118 minutes. Good for: period drama, LGBT stories, and quiet love stories. Less good for: the pace is very slow, little happens, and the feeling is always suppressed; anyone wanting open melodrama will not find it.