Based on Patricia Highsmith’s bold 1952 novel, originally called The Price of Salt, Carol follows an intense affair between two women of very different ages and backgrounds in New York City. If the book was controversial when it was first published (under a pseudonym), the film – starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara – had to be equally groundbreaking. The task? To capture a visually honest picture of society in the midst of change, whilst echoing the romanticism of 1950’s New York.
“It’s very difficult to take a book and write the script of that book in a way that comes to life on film for audiences,” says Stephen Woolley, one of the film’s producers. This challenge fell to Emmy-nominated writer Phyllis Nagy (Mrs. Harris), who adapted the screenplay from Highsmith’s original novel to great effect. “Carol enables audiences to experience The Price of Salt,” explains Woolley. “And that’s an art – an invisible art that audiences can appreciate in our film.”
While it was impossible to go back to the New York of Highsmith’s day, the pre-war buildings and apartments of Cincinnati, Ohio, provided a faithful replica and backdrop on which to retell the story, which was shot – unusually – on Super 16mm (rather than modern day 35mm) film for a handheld 1950s documentary feel. Directors of photography Ed Lachman and Todd Haynes (who had previously worked together on Mildred Pierce, Far From Heaven and I’m Not There) dubbed the effect “poetic realism”.
Lachman and Haynes looked to certain mid-century photographers, like Saul Leiter and then focused more closely on what female photographers of the 1950s were doing at that time. Secret street photographer Vivian Maier was a particularly interesting reference point.
A nanny by day and a prolific artist in her spare time (the extent of which was unknown until her death in 2009), she is strikingly similar to the film’s younger protagonist Therese (Rooney Mara), a sales assistant who takes more poignant photographs as the plot develops.
“Cinematography or telling stories in images is what will tell a psychological truth in a film,” explains Lachman. “That’s what Todd and I are always trying to do – find the visual context of the story. To do that, we implement psychology in the way the camera moves, the lighting, and the set and costume design.”
Naturally, the film is a costume designer’s dream. The quintessentially Upper East Side outfits of Carol (Cate Blanchett) – fur coats, long gloves and head scarves – are the work of three-time Oscar-winner Sandy Powell (Cinderella). “I wanted Carol to be fashionable, but understated,” explains Powell. “Somebody a character like Therese would look up to, and be impressed by as well.”
From the ubiquitous yellow checker taxis (that first arrived in NYC in the 1950s) to the mid-century interiors of Carol’s home, the film follows a specific palette based on the colours from the era.
Production designer Judy Becker chose shades of sour green, yellow, and dirty pink – slightly soiled colours – to create the essence of a post-war city, right before the Eisenhower administration. A far more radical time in history than anyone could have known at the time.
Working together, all of these elements produce a striking visual signature, setting Carol apart as one of the year’s most enduringly stylish releases.
Carol is in cinemas from 27 November 2015
London’s Somerset House is currently hosting a free exhibition of Saul Leiter images alongside Carol cinematography. Through a Lens: Saul Leiter and Carol runs until 10 January 2016 and is open daily from 10am to 7pm, and until 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays.
