--- title: "Carol: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/carol/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/carol" critics_score: 90 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Carol (2015): what the critics said Critics' score 90 from 18 reviews: 17 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics greet Carol with strong enthusiasm, with praise concentrated on Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara’s performances and Todd Haynes’s restrained direction. The reviews repeatedly describe a romance built through glances, silences and small gestures, with the leads conveying desire under the pressures of 1950s repression. Period detail and carefully composed images attract admiration, but the central point of agreement is emotional: most critics find that the restraint makes the longing more affecting. Reservations centre on whether that same restraint keeps the lovers at a distance. Screen Daily notes a chill beneath the delicate filmmaking, while Slant Magazine finds the period drama somewhat stiff despite its expressive performances and visuals. The spread is largely favourable rather than sharply divided, though Den of Geek offers a firmer dissent: it admires the acting and cinematography but finds the romance too polite and frosty, lacking youthful drive. ## Little White Lies — Sophie Monks Kaufman Rating 4/5/5. 25 November 2015. The critic calls the film a beaming masterpiece and one of the most beautiful love stories ever told. She singles out its clear, polished storytelling and the way every element fuses into a harmonious whole celebrating love. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/carol) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 5/5. The critic describes an exquisite romance that is both chic and chilly before exploding in emotional transparency. He singles out Haynes’s nuanced melodrama and the two high-calibre leading ladies for praise. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-s6ci78/carol/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 5/5. 26 November 2015. The critic calls Todd Haynes’s 1950s-set drama an intoxicating triumph about forbidden love. Blanchett and Mara deliver superb performances in a film that revels in exquisitely observed period detail. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/26/carol-film-review-cate-blanchett-todd-haynes-rooney-mara) ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Rating 5/5. 26 November 2015. Carol is described as gorgeous and gently groundbreaking, an exquisite work of American art with a specific mid-century melancholy. Blanchett leaps over her own high standards in a performance that slays, with Haynes handling the material superbly. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/14/carol-review-cate-blanchett-will-slay-you/) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 17 May 2015. The critic hails a subtle, exquisitely designed drama calibrated like an expensive watch. He singles out the stunning central performances by Blanchett and Mara and the film’s graceful, triumphant final moments. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/carol-1) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2015. Carol is an exceptional romance shot, scripted and acted with exquisite restraint, delivering a magnificent portrait of a stylish transgressive. It singles out the pure delight induced by Blanchett's performance as the older woman in the central relationship. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/carol-film-review-an-exceptional-romance-of-pure-delight-a3124726.html) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating A-. 19 November 2015. Haynes delivers a rapturous, modern-feeling adaptation that honors the era's repression while celebrating the central relationship's slow-burning ardor through subtle gestures and symbiotic lead performances by Blanchett and Mara. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/todd-haynes-goes-back-to-the-50s-with-a-rapturous-new-1798185718) ## Empire — Nev Pierce Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 November 2015. The measured and restrained film builds little moments of silences, looks and longing into a freight train of feeling about entrapment, escape and love. It singles out Rooney Mara's stunning versatility and sensitivity in the central role alongside Blanchett's brilliance. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/carol-review/) ## Film Comment — Amy Taubin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2015. The film is a slow-burn adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel about two women falling in love in 1950s New York, made entirely in Haynes's own voice through gestures, glances, and performances. Blanchett and Mara deliver extraordinary work that conveys lifetimes of desire shaped by the era's repression. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/review-carol-todd-haynes/) ## The Independent — Geoffrey Macnab Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2015. The film is a subtle, moving character study of two women who refuse to live against their own grain in a conformist 1950s world. It singles out the brilliant contrasting performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara for particular praise. [Read the review](https://independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/carol-film-review-cate-blanchett-stars-in-a-moving-tale-of-forbidden-love-a6750761.html) ## The Times — Kate Muir Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2015. The film is praised as an exquisite lesson in seduction and nuance, with astounding performances from Blanchett and Mara that capture the agony of longing in a repressed era. It is positioned as the Brief Encounter for our times. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/north-america-travel/us-travel/new-york-city/film-review-carol-d8673tjvj) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 November 2015. Haynes crafts a deconstructive yet gloriously romantic drama through precise, artificial performances by Blanchett and Mara and compressed emotional gestures; it finds romance in the play of signs, colors, and furtive longing despite its self-aware style. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/movie-review-carol-blanchett.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 19 November 2015. The critic calls it one of the best movie love stories, lauding the exceptional skill, style, performances by Blanchett and Mara, and Haynes' masterful blend of modern sensibility with classic technique. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-carol-review-20151120-column.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Sheila O'Malley 20 November 2015. The critic praises Haynes' lush emotional melodrama exploring repression and the 1950s closet, highlighting the seductive surfaces, visual details, and strong performances by Blanchett and Mara. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/carol-2015) ## Screen Daily 16 May 2015. Festival review. The critic finds an exquisite sadness in this delicate romantic drama dominated by Blanchett’s nuanced performance. She singles out the stately, evocative filmmaking while noting it can feel a bit chilly. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/carol-review/5087410.article) ## Sight and Sound — Kate Stables 26 November 2015. The critic praises Haynes’s masterfully intelligent adaptation as a swooning yet understated love story, a knowing lesbian reworking of classic Hollywood romance. She singles out the two lead performances and the film’s elegant restraint for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-carol) ## Slant Magazine — Steve Macfarlane 2 October 2015. Festival review. The film is a sumptuous but somewhat stiff period piece about two women striving to begin a romance amid 1950s repression; it excels in capturing the dangers and pining through restrained performances and modernist visuals rather than overt signposts. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/carol/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane 23 November 2015. The critic celebrates the film's beauty and emotional clarity, praising Haynes' direction, the casting of Blanchett and Mara, and its triumphant handling of the love story. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/23/secret-lives-the-current-cinema-anthony-lane) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis 20 November 2015. The critic hails the film as exquisitely directed and acted, a transporting adaptation that captures the novel's romance and period atmosphere with visual artistry. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/movies/review-todd-hayness-carol-starring-cate-blanchett-and-rooney-mara.html) ## Variety 16 May 2015. Festival review. The critic finds the film exquisitely drawn and deeply felt, praising the brilliant performances by Blanchett and Mara and the sophisticated filmmaking craft in this adaptation of the lesbian love story. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-cate-blanchett-in-carol-1201498667/) ## Collider — Brian Formo Rating A. 19 November 2015. The critic calls it the most romantic film of the year, praising its focus on gestures and the aching, heartfelt performances, especially Rooney Mara's. [Read the review](https://collider.com/carol-movie-review-cate-blanchett/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A. 16 May 2015. Festival review. Carol is a beautiful, immaculately made love story that layers simple romance with deep feeling, presented as a timeless classical romance through Haynes' restrained direction and the leads' performances. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/cannes-review-todd-haynes-carol-starring-cate-blanchett-rooney-mara-20150516/) ## Consequence Rating A-. 5 October 2015. Festival review. The critic highlights the film's tender, restrained portrayal of a lesbian romance through small gestures and strong performances by Blanchett and Mara, noting its maturity and avoidance of sensationalism. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2015/10/nyff-film-review-carol/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 November 2015. The critic calls the film a near-perfect masterpiece and another masterwork from Haynes. They single out the exquisite performances, particularly Cate Blanchett's, along with the evocative cinematography and minimalist score. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/carol-review-cate-blanchett-rooney-mara-todd-haynes/) ## /Film — Jack Giroux Rating 8.5/10. 10 November 2015. Festival review. Carol is a quietly powerful, absorbing drama about repressed desires, distinguished by its sensitive direction, strong performances from Blanchett and Mara, and effective use of camerawork to convey emotional intimacy. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/540987/carol-review-afi-fest/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 3/5. 19 November 2015. A visually stunning but restrained love story set in the repressive 1950s, elevated by Blanchett and Mara's layered performances and Lachman's icy cinematography. The film is elegantly regal yet too polite and frosty, lacking youthful drive. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/carol-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh 18 May 2015. Festival review. The film is an intelligent and sophisticated love story reminiscent of classic romantic dramas, elevated by Cate Blanchett's compelling performance and Edward Lachman's cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/carol-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/carol.md