The film follows a stand-up comedian who just got dumped as she meets a man during a show leading to a one-night stand that resulted in her pregnancy and her eventual decision to have an abortion. It is a film that plays into a young woman who doesn’t have a lot of things in her life figured out as she just got dumped where she does her stand-up revealing that her boyfriend has been sleeping with her friend and is leaving her for her friend. Gillian Robespierre’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative as it follows Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) who does her performance where she reveals she got dumped and a friend of hers has taken her boyfriend. While lamenting over her break-up and other misfortunes as well as being unable to pay her rent, she drinks where she meets a guy named Max (Jake Lacy) where they have a one-night stand that eventually lead to her pregnancy. With all of the things in her life, Donna decides to have an abortion but she also learns that Max is a former student of her mother as it only complicates things.
Robespierre’s direction is largely straightforward as it is shot on location in New York City with much of it in and around Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan. While there are some wide shots in some of Robespierre compositions, much of the film is intimate with its usage of medium shots and close-ups as it play into Donna’s interaction with other characters including her best friend/roommate Nellie (Gaby Hoffmann) and another comedian in Joey (Gabe Liedman). Robespierre does move the camera to gather some of the conversations in the streets while much of it has her just aiming for something simple as it play into Donna’s own anxiety in whether to tell Max or not that she’s carrying his child and planning to abort it. Robespierre also knows where to put the actors in a shot as well as showcasing how they perform and the reaction of the audiences. Robespierre also play into the drama in its third act it as it relates to Max and why he is different from the men that Donna had met in her life as he is also trying to find himself. Overall, Robespierre crafts an engaging and touching film about a woman dealing with a one-night stand and her decision to have an abortion.
Cinematographer Chris Teague does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as its emphasis on low-key and autumn/winter-like colors as well as yellowish lights for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Casey Brooks and Jacob Craycroft do terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into the humor. Production designer Sara K. White, with set decorator Ramsey Scott and art director Bridget Rafferty, does fantastic work with the set design from the book store that Donna and Nellie work at where they live above as well as the interiors of the comedy club. Costume designer Evren Catlin does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual in the winter clothing the characters wear including a few stylish blouses that Donna wears.
The sound work of Mark Corbin is superb for its low-key yet naturalistic approach to sound in how comedy clubs sound as well as sparse moments in the film. The film’s music by Chris Bordeaux is wonderful for its low-key indie-folk score that largely features bits of folk guitars and keyboards to play into some of its light-drama while its music soundtrack features some indie, folk, and classical music with contributions from Paul Simon, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The casting by Suzanne Crowley and Jessica Kelly is amazing as it feature some notable small roles from Stephen Singer as the bookstore owner Gene, Cindy Cheung as a physician in Dr. Bernard who gives Donna advice about her pregnancy, Paul Briganti as Donna’s ex-boyfriend Ryan, Gabe Liedman as Donna and Nellie’s friend Joey who is a gay comedian, and David Cross as a comedian in Sam who is trying to flirt with Donna. Richard Kind and Polly Draper are fantastic in their respective roles as Donna’s separated parents in Jacob and Nancy Stern who both provide different advice to Donna about her life with the former being more comical and the latter being more serious. Gaby Hoffmann is excellent as Donna’s friend/roommate Nellie who is one of the few to learn about the pregnancy as well as Donna’s decision to get pregnant while observing Max.
Jake Lacy is brilliant as Max as a former student of Nancy who meets Donna at a club as it lead to a one-night stand where Lacy brings a lot of wit but also someone who is just as uncertain about his own future as a person. Finally, there’s Jenny Slate in an incredible performance as Donna Stern as a stand-up comedian who is dealing with a lot in her life such as the need to find a new place to live, rent money, and a relationship that just ended only for things to worsen by a one-night stand that lead to her pregnancy and eventual abortion. Slate brings not just a lot of low-key wit to her performance but also some light-drama that is filled with anxiety and uncertainty that has an air of realism into someone who is dealing with a major event in her life.
Obvious Child is a phenomenal film from Gillian Robespierre that features a great leading performance from Jenny Slate. Along with its ensemble cast, exploration on unexpected pregnancy and abortion, and its simplistic presentation. It is a film that is a study of a woman who is still trying to find herself following a break-up and a one-night stand as well as dealing with the stigma of abortion. In the end, Obvious Child is a phenomenal film from Gillian Robespierre.
Gillian Robespierre Films: (Landline) – (The Pisces)
© thevoid99 2021
Based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Carol is the story of a love affair in the early 1950s between a young yet aspiring photographer and an older woman that is considered forbidden in those times. Directed by Todd Haynes and screenplay by Phyllis Nagy, the film is an exploration of a lesbian love affair being kept secret during a time where homosexuality was taboo. Starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, and Kyle Chandler. Carol is a ravishing and evocative film from Todd Haynes.
Set during the holiday season of 1952, the film follows the forbidden love affair of a recently-divorced woman in her 40s and an aspiring photographer in her 20s as they keep it a secret. It’s a film that explores two women who are attracted to one another as they both seek something to escape in as the titular character (Cate Blanchett) isn’t just coping with the aftermath of a divorce as well as the expectations of being part of conventional society. For Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), she is just someone trying to find herself as she works temporarily as a shop girl in a mall where she would meet Carol Aird who is shopping for a Xmas present for her daughter. A simple suggestion would become something more as Therese would mail the gloves Carol accidentally left at the mall and return them in which Carol would invite Therese for lunch as it leads to a relationship. Phyllis Nagy’s script has a unique structure though it starts off with Carol and Therese having a dinner as it would be shown again in a different perspective as it then flashes back to Therese reflecting on her romance with Carol.
The first act is about the meeting of the two women but also the complications in their lives as Therese has a boyfriend in Richard (Jake Lacy) who wants to marry her but she isn’t sure as she wants to go into photography. Carol is dealing with her divorce from Harge (Kyle Chandler) who doesn’t want to let her go though he knows about her infatuation with other women including longtime friend Abby (Sarah Paulson). Things intensify when Harge threatens to take their daughter away as he wants to rekindle things with Carol who isn’t interested as she becomes conflicted. The second act is about the two women escaping from their problems as they go on a road trip around the country where their romance would reach its peak. The third act is about the two women both venturing into separate journeys as well as the decisions both women would make for themselves as well as wanting to meet each other as it goes back to the opening scene.
Todd Haynes’ direction definitely stylish in terms of the compositions and scenes he creates as it definitely recall elements of old-school Hollywood of the 1950s. Though it’s set partially in Manhattan and rural parts of America such as Ohio, the film is largely shot in Cincinnati as well as other parts of rural Ohio to play into this world of 1950s American suburbia and the city as Haynes would use some wide shots to establish the locations. Yet, Haynes would go for intimacy in the medium shots and close-ups as it relates to the drama such as the way Haynes would shoot things inside a car through a window or what is going on at a hotel room. Haynes’ direction would also have that air of simplicity in the way he would present these intimate moments between Carol and Therese as Haynes usage of reverse-shots and medium shots help play into the way their conversations are carried as well as what happens when the two are equals.
Haynes would also maintain a sense liveliness for the scenes set on the road but also some melodrama as it relates to the family drama that Carol is enduring where Haynes would bring in bits of melodrama but not in an over-the-top fashion. By the time the film reaches the third act where it’s about Carol and Therese on their own as well as longing for each other. It does play into a world that is starting to change where Therese is finding herself as an artist while Carol’s world is falling apart. The direction becomes more wide open visually while the opening scene of the two women meeting each other is shown a new perspective as well as emphasizing more of where these women are at this point in the story and where they could go. Overall, Haynes create a rapturous and mesmerizing film about two women falling in love with each other in the early 1950s.
Cinematographer Edward Lachman does brilliant work with the film‘s gorgeous cinematography as its usage of colors for many of the interior and exteriors would have this dream-like quality for many of the scenes set in the day and night while having a crispness in the image since the film is shot in 16mm with 35mm lenses. Editor Affonso Goncalves does excellent work with the editing as it‘s largely straightforward though it does have some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the melodrama. Production designer Judy Becker, with set decorator Heather Loeffler and art director Jesse Rosenthal, does amazing work with the set design from the way Carol‘s home looks like from inside as well as the apartment of Therese and the hotel rooms the two would stay at during the road trip. Costume designer Sandy Powell does fantastic work with the costumes from the dresses of the women as well as the hats and jewelries that they would wear.
Key hair stylist John Jack Curtin and makeup artist Anne Taylor do terrific work with the look of the hairstyles and the kind of makeup the women wore at the time to display their beauty. Visual effects supervisor Chris Haney does nice work with some of the minimal visual effects as it is mainly bits of set dressing to play into the period of early 1950s New York City. Sound editor James David Redding III does superb work with the sound in the way some of the sparse moments in the mall sounds as well as how music is heard in some of the rooms as it help establish that sense of atmosphere that Carol and Therese would encounter. The film’s music by Carter Burwell is incredible for its sumptuous orchestral score that play into the drama with its lush string arrangements that is very low-key in parts but also sweeping in some of the melodramatic moments while music supervisor Randall Poster creates a wonderful soundtrack of music from that period from artists and acts such as the Clovers, Billie Holliday, Georgia Gibbs, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Jo Stafford, Helen Foster and the Rovers, Perry Como, Annie Ross, Eddie Fisher, Pee Wee King and His Golden Cowboys, and many others.
The casting by Laura Rosenthal is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Sadie and K.K. Heim as Harge and Carol’s daughter Rindy, Trent Rowland as Therese’ colleague Jack who appears in the film’s opening sequence, Carrie Brownstein as a woman Therese meets at a party late in the film, Kevin Crowley as Carol’s attorney in regards to issues relating to Harge, Cory Michael Smith as a traveling salesman named Tommy that Carol and Therese meets, and John Magaro as Dannie McElroy as a newspaper writer who would get Therese a job as a photographer for a newspaper. Jake Lacy is excellent as Therese’s boyfriend Richard as a man who wants to give Therese a lot yet has no clue about what she’s feeling. Kyle Chandler is fantastic as Harge Aird as Carol’s ex-husband who is eager to get back with her yet would make threats relating to their daughter as he feels neglected in favor of other women.
Sarah Paulson is amazing as Abby Gerhard as Carol’s longtime friend who was once a lover of Carol as she is one of the few that knows about Carol’s relationship with Therese as she would be a crucial figure in the third act as it relates to Therese about Carol. Rooney Mara is phenomenal as Therese Belivet as a young woman who falls for the titular character as she tries to keep her feelings in check yet is fascinated by Carol as it is this restrained yet touching performance from Mara as she has a great sense of rapport with her co-star in Blanchett. Finally, there’s Cate Blanchett in a sensational performance as the titular character as a woman who is dealing with issues with her family as she becomes intrigued by Therese as she sees her as something special as there is an air of radiance and anguish in Blanchett’s performance which definitely stands as one of her best performances of her illustrious career.
Carol is a tremendous film from Todd Haynes that features astonishing performances from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. Along with a great supporting cast, gorgeous visuals, a fantastic music soundtrack and score, and a riveting story of forbidden love. It’s a film doesn’t just explore the complications of love but also what people will do to express it to each other. In the end, Carol is a spectacular film from Todd Haynes.
Todd Haynes Films: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story - Poison - Dottie Gets Spanked - Safe - Velvet Goldmine - Far from Heaven - I'm Not There - Mildred Pierce (2011 miniseries) - Wonderstruck - Dark Waters (2019 film) - The Velvet Underground - The Auteurs #3: Todd Haynes
© thevoid99 2016
