Carol (2015)

This is another film that has two strong central female characters: Carol (Cate Blanchett) and Therese (Rooney Mara).
It is also a love story. Carol is already going through a divorce from her wealthy husband, Harge (Kyle Chandler, playing against type) and is lonely though she adores her daughter, Rindy.
But she finally finds someone whose company she enjoys: store clerk and wannabe photographer Therese.
They start a slow burn romance which comes to a head on New Year's Eve. However, by that point, Carol is a broken woman, as Harge has filed for full custody of little Rindy so she and Therese set off on a road trip, to everyone's dismay, including Therese's boyfriend, the kind Richard (Jake Lacy).
But the romance is cut off abruptly when it is discovered that Harge sent a spy to record the sexual acts of Carol to be used against her in the custody battle. So she cuts things off with Therese and sends her long-time friend and occasional lover, Abby (Sarah Paulson) to fetch Therese.
Therese is devastated but pulls herself up by the bootstrap and starts picking pictures for a living.
Carol tries to return to normal but can't face living with a lie even if its for her daughter. So, the two reconnect at the end of the film, once again, having a happy as possible ending.
While the plot is simple, the film is reminiscent of the popular melodramas of the 1950s (Written on the Wind is one of the few I've seen), it is all about feeling and Blanchett and Mara give superb performances though I don't understand why Mara was nominated for supporting actress when she and Blanchett are co-leads. But you feel as though you have been transported back to 1952, which is no small feat and you are glad that Carol decided to be true to herself, picking her happiness over her daughter's which is a small win, but a win nonetheless. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-I wonder if Rindy liked her train set.
-Where does Carol get all her money?
-What kind of name is Harge? That is almost reason enough to divorce him.
-Who sent the telegram to Carol and then wasn't her gun loaded?