‘Carol’ Trailer: Cate Blanchett Romances Rooney Mara

Director Todd Haynes has not made a feature film since 2007's I’m Not There, although he did direct the excellent five-part Mildred Pierce miniseries for HBO back in 2011. Fans of the director will be thrilled to watch this new trailer for Carol, Haynes’ first film in eight years — and it looks like a real stunner.

There isn’t much dialogue to the Carol trailer, which is more of a preview of the film’s tone and aesthetic than anything else. There’s a real melancholy mood to the trailer, which features Cate Blanchett in the titular role, as a married woman who begins an affair with a younger shopgirl named Therese (Rooney Mara). If you couldn’t tell by the trailer, Carol takes place in the 1950s, during a time when sexuality of all stripes was repressed, but homosexuality in particular was expressly hidden and resented.

Haynes’ previous films have explored social outsiders and dark inner struggles, beginning with his debut short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story up to his Mildred Pierce miniseries. A new Todd Haynes film is something to be very, very excited about — he’s one of the most visually artful and emotionally stunning filmmakers working today.

Here’s the official description for Carol, which is based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt:

Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara & set against the glamourous backdrop of 1950s New York, Carol is an achingly beautiful depiction of love against the odds. From the author of The Talented Mr. Ripley and acclaimed director Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There, Mildred Pierce) comes a powerful drama about a married woman who risks everything when she embarks on a romance with a younger department store worker.

Carol also stars Kyle Chandler and Jake Lacy, and hits theaters on November 20.