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Carol

Carol

Romance · Drama · 2015

In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.

Movie details

Carol

“Some people change your life forever.”

2015 Romance · Drama 1h 58m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Carol?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

One Day

One Day

Drama · 2011

After spending the night together on the eve of their college graduation, Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, and sometimes not.

The Bridges of Madison County

The Bridges of Madison County

Drama · 1995

Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.

The Way We Were

The Way We Were

Drama · 1973

Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.

Girls Like Girls

Girls Like Girls

Romance · 2026

After her mother's passing, 17-year-old Coley navigates new feelings of intimacy with Sonya in rural Oregon, where both girls must overcome their mutual uncertainties and self-doubt to embrace their connection.

Our Souls at Night

Our Souls at Night

Romance · 2017

Addie Moore and Louis Waters, a widow and widower, have lived next to each other for years. The pair have almost no relationship, but that all changes when Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbour.

Karen Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle

Karen Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle

Romance · 2017

Maggie, a single mom has to balance between her career and her son, Jordan. Jordan finds a tutor named Casey to help him at school, and Casey becomes like a father figure. Will the three of them find happiness and love once again?

Women in Love

Women in Love

Drama · 1969

Growing up in the sheltered confines of a 1920s English coal-mining community, free-spirited sisters Gudrun and Ursula explore erotic love with a wealthy playboy and a philosophical educator, with cataclysmic results for all four.

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck

Drama · 2017

The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.

A Godwink Christmas: Meant For Love

A Godwink Christmas: Meant For Love

TV Movie · 2019

Multiple coincidences and a chance meeting bring together Alice and Jack, two strangers from very different family backgrounds, for an unexpected Christmastime courtship filled with personal revelations, misread signals, and a very real health scare that will either destroy or strengthen the budding romance.

Christmas Around the Corner

Christmas Around the Corner

Drama · 2018

Claire (Alexandra Breckenridge), a savvy venture capitalist from New York City, escapes to a quaint town in Vermont for the holidays and becomes a guest of the Fortenbury Bookstore. Upon arrival, Claire finds Christmas celebrations have been canceled by the town after a flood and the bookstore is in a dire state of disrepair. She immediately takes on the challenge to revitalize the store, but clashes with the owner, Andrew (Jamie Spilchuk), who initially rejects all her proposed improvements. Eventually, sparks fly as the two begin a budding romance, and Claire’s infectious optimism inspires Andrew to join her in reviving the yuletide spirit. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Claire discovers that Andrew is planning to sell the bookstore in the New Year. Will the spirit of Christmas be enough to change Andrew’s mind and encourage him to follow his heart?

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Todd Haynes

Written by

Phyllis Nagy

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Carol Aird

Rooney Mara

Rooney Mara

Therese Belivet

Kyle Chandler

Kyle Chandler

Harge Aird

Jake Lacy

Jake Lacy

Richard Semco

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson

Abby Gerhard

John Magaro

John Magaro

Dannie McElroy

Cory Michael Smith

Cory Michael Smith

Tommy Tucker

Court is in session

Put Carol on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.