Carol
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The Moonlight essay
CinemaCarol and the Look That Arrives Before PermissionRead the essayStoryline
The whole story, ending included.
1952 New York; a glove left on a counter, and the look that precedes permission.
New York, Christmas 1952. Therese Belivet, who wants to be a photographer, is working at Frankenberg's department store when Carol Aird, elegant and older, comes looking for a doll for her daughter, Rindy. Therese suggests a train set instead. Carol leaves her gloves on the counter, and Therese posts them back to the address on the sales slip. Carol telephones to thank her and invites her to lunch.
Carol is going through a bitter divorce from her husband, Harge. Therese has a boyfriend, Richard, who wants to marry her and take her to France; she is unsure what she wants. When she visits Carol's house in New Jersey, Harge arrives without warning to take Rindy to Florida for Christmas. He is suspicious of Therese, because years earlier Carol had an affair with her friend Abby. Then Harge asks the court to apply a morality clause, threatening to use Carol's love for women to win sole custody of Rindy. Carol escapes on a road trip and asks Therese to come. Richard accuses Therese of being infatuated, and they part.
On New Year's Eve, Carol and Therese kiss for the first time and sleep together. The next morning they learn that a friendly travelling salesman, Tommy Tucker, is a private detective hired by Harge. Carol confronts him, but he has already sent Harge tape recordings. In Chicago, Carol flies home to fight for her daughter, leaving Abby to drive Therese back with a letter. When Therese telephones, Carol hangs up.
Therese builds a portfolio and is hired by The New York Times. In April, at a meeting with the lawyers, Carol refuses to deny what the tapes contain. Rather than put Rindy through a public trial, she gives Harge custody in exchange for regular visits. She writes to Therese, and they meet at the Ritz Tower hotel. Carol has a job and a flat on Madison Avenue, and asks Therese to live with her. Therese says no. Carol says she will be dining at the Oak Room if Therese changes her mind, and tells her she loves her. That evening, after a party where she cannot connect with anyone, Therese walks into the Oak Room. Across the room their eyes meet, and a smile slowly spreads across Carol's face.
Starring
Cate Blanchettas Carol Aird
A wealthy New Jersey wife and mother in the middle of a divorce, whose love for women her husband turns into a weapon.
Carol Aird’s story
Carol meets Therese at Frankenberg's, buying a present for her daughter, Rindy, and invites her to lunch when Therese posts back her forgotten gloves. With Harge invoking a morality clause to win sole custody, she takes Therese on a road trip; on New Year's Eve they become lovers. Next morning she learns that a friendly salesman is Harge's detective, who has sent him tapes. She comforts Therese, who blames herself, then flies home from Chicago to fight for Rindy and hangs up when Therese calls. She lives with Harge's family and sees a psychotherapist, but in front of the lawyers she refuses to deny what the tapes show and gives up custody in exchange for visits. Then she asks Therese to live with her, is refused, and says she loves her. When Therese walks into the Oak Room, Carol smiles.
Rooney Maraas Therese Belivet
A young shop assistant who wants to be a photographer and has not yet discovered what she wants from love.
Therese Belivet’s story
Therese works at Frankenberg's, hopes to become a photographer and is unsure whether to marry her boyfriend, Richard. After posting back Carol's gloves, she goes to lunch with her, then to her house, where she photographs her and sees her quarrel with Harge. She goes with Carol on a road trip, parting from Richard, who says Carol will soon tire of her. On New Year's Eve she and Carol become lovers. When the detective's tapes reach Harge, Carol flies home from Chicago, leaving her with Abby and a letter, and hangs up when she calls. She builds a portfolio and is hired by The New York Times. When Carol asks her to live with her, she says no. At a party that evening she cannot connect with anyone; she leaves for the Oak Room and walks towards Carol's table.
Sarah Paulsonas Abby Gerhard
Carol's oldest friend and former lover, the one person she can rely on when everything is at stake.
Kyle Chandleras Harge Aird
Carol's husband, who uses a morality clause to fight for sole custody of their daughter.
Jake Lacyas Richard Semco
Therese's boyfriend, who wants to marry her and take her with him to France.
Cory Michael Smithas Tommy Tucker
A friendly travelling salesman met on the road, who is secretly a private detective working for Harge.
Why it matters
Carol is a love story in which the law is one of the characters. Patricia Highsmith first published the novel under a pseudonym in 1952, and the film keeps its world: a New York in which a mother's love for a woman could be turned against her in a custody fight. Harge's morality clause and the detective with his tapes are the machinery that made such lives dangerous. Todd Haynes films the women's desire mostly through glances, gloves and the distance across a room, because in that world looking was what could be risked. Carol's choice, to give up custody rather than deny who she is, is the film's hardest moment. At Cannes in 2015 Rooney Mara shared the Best Actress prize, and the film won the Queer Palm. The question it leaves is what honesty costs, and who is made to pay for it.