Movie Review -- "Carol"

A week or so ago, Partner and I went to see the film Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Even though I was very pleased to see a screen version of Patricia Highsmith's groundbreaking lesbian novel The Price of Salt (1952), I approached the movie with some trepidation despite its generally rave reviews.

Why? Well, on the whole, mainstream films do not do well by LGBTQ issues. Brokeback Mountain, anyone? (where same-sex relationships are constructed as solely sexual and all actual queerness is totally erased so that straight audiences can be reassured that the whole world is, in fact, just like them.) Notes on a Scandal, where lesbians are dangerous predators who stalk and destroy straight women. The Kids Are All Right, which, as some of you might remember, I ranted about here on LJ.

So as I say, I was a bit skeptical. What did I think after I saw it? Read on.

( My Conclusions [no real spoilers] )