‘Carol’ Trailer: Cate Blanchett Can’t Offer Resolution

After the blockbuster offerings of summer we have the fall and winter movie season to look forward to, which offers some very exciting prospects — and while many (us included) are looking forward to new Star Wars, Quentin Tarantino and Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, there’s one film that’s a little less showy and perhaps a little under your radar: Carol, the upcoming drama from acclaimed director Todd Haynes, which has just unveiled a new official trailer.

Unlike the previous trailer, which was gorgeously subtle and intriguing in its own right, the latest US trailer is heavier on dialogue — though not by too much. There’s a certain feeling of restraint amid the charmingly solemn Christmas aesthetic, but there’s enough dialogue to get the point across.

Carol is based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley) and centers on the affair between the older Carol (Cate Blanchett) and the younger shopgirl Terese (Rooney Mara), complicated by Carol’s husband (Kyle Chandler), who believes his wife’s close relationships with women are interfering with her ability to be a good mother and spouse. As you can see in the trailer, the film takes place in the 1950s, a time of sexual repression particularly felt by women and the gay community.

It’s Todd Haynes’ first film since 2007's I’m Not There, though he did direct the excellent six-part Mildred Pierce miniseries for HBO back in 2011. Carol recently debuted at the Telluride film festival, where it’s already garnering serious acclaim — hardly surprising from the filmmaker who brought us Safe, Far From Heaven and Velvet Goldmine.

Carol also stars Sarah Paulson and Jake Lacy, and hits select theaters on November 20.