The similarity between "Before Sunrise" (1995) and "Carol" (2015)

One of my all time favourite movies is the 1995 released Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy starrer "Before Sunrise". To date no other movie has come close to replacing this for me. That is until this week (and a mere 20 years later). The movie in question is the multiple Golden Globe nominee and - I am sure - soon to be multiple Oscar nominee "Carol".

For many reasons the movie Carol blew me away. From the undeniable powerhouse performances from the main leads (Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara), to the cinematography, costumes and the way Todd Haynes has superbly presented New York City in the 1950's era. Ultimately what I loved about the movie was the simple (and yet complex) aspect of two characters falling in love, and being presented with that journey.

Love has many levels, from the initial excitement of anticipation (do they like you, don't they like you), to meeting and engaging with the object of your affection, understanding them, knowing them, and to loving them.

This is where, in my view, Carol has a strong similarity to Before Sunrise. The movie is also about two characters coming together, and falling in love. Both movies are also highly thought-provoking and beautifully filmed by their respective directors (Richard Linklater and Todd Haynes).

Before Sunrise is an intelligent look at modern love (at that time); through the conversations that Hawke and Delpy have as the decide to spend a day in Vienna before each one has to return to their individual countries. Through this one day (and the focal point of the 1 hour 45 minute movie) they begin to fall in love. This is evident in the conversations and interactions that play out in the movie. What I loved about Before Sunrise was how the ending was left open for viewers to make their own judgement to "what happens next". Simply brilliant filmmaking.

Carol is similar (lets not focus on the fact that it is a love story between two women - because ultimately love is love, and not gender specific). In Before Sunrise the two characters meet, and there is an initial pull (call it attraction, feeling, whatever) and a desire for the characters to want to spend time together, so Hawke's character spontaneously suggests for them to spend the day together. In Carol (spoiler alert) the spontaneous (or maybe premeditated) act of Cate Blanchett's character Carol is to leave her gloves behind for Rooney Mara's character - Therese - to possibly return them to her. What follows is the returning of the gloves, and subsequent meet ups. Also, just like Before Sunrise, the ending is left open for the viewer to make their own judgement to "what happens next".

The similarity of the love and connection in the two movies is shown through non verbal means by the initial stolen looks and the brief touches between the characters. What is undeniable between the two movies is the sheer power of connecting with another soul. And this is a soul connection that isn't soley concluded from the mind, but felt from the heart. The characters take actions that are spontaneous and loving while not fearing where that connection is going to take them. (What should be noted is that the movie Carol is presented in the era of the 1950's - a time where such a love was considered illegal. Thereby giving a much deeper sense of connection between the characters, where the attraction is too strong to ignore).

One thing that Allyson Johnson writes in her 20 year anniversary review of Before Sunrise, is that she doubted if there would be many films like Before Sunrise, a love story written with care and shot by a director who enjoys watching his story and characters come alive before him. With Carol I feel Todd Haynes has probably managed to achieved just that.

In her review Johnson talks about two iconic scenes in Before Sunrise. One of them being the scene where Hawke and Delpy are in a record store listening to a record and during this scene they steal looks at one another, and averting their eyes when the other catches it. As the record plays out there is a wanting between the characters to just look at the other, possibly as they are keen to know more about each other. The attraction is evident.

Similarly there is a scene in Carol (spoiler alert) where during the lunch date - apart from the stealing looks - Carol is trying to get herself another meet-up with Therese. It's in that conversation that we can sense Carol's nervousness in suggesting the meet up. And when Therese doesn't initially respond (most probably due to her naivety in understanding the underplaying that is going on) it is Carol who then turns it around and ask the question directly, and all Therese has to do is say yes or no. The difference in their ages (the characters are at least 10/15 years part) and hence experience of relationships, is what makes this scene - from a subtlety point of view - one of the most romantic scenes I have seen since the record scene in Before Sunrise. Personally speaking the most powerful and romantic scene I have seen is at the end of this movie. I won't say more, especially if you haven't yet seen the movie.

As I metioned it has taken 20 years for a movie to come and sit on the same mantlepiece as Before Sunrise for me. I will watch Carol again. I want to depict and understand those characters some more, just like I did by re-watching Before Sunrise numerous times. I guess, at heart, I am a romantic, but I like to understand the connection that any characters have in a love story. And just like Before Sunrise, where you experience falling in love through the characters, this is the same experience the movie Carol gives. It truly is a masterclass of a film!

Saying all of this, I haven't even spoken in any detail about the cinematography and the direction, etc in Carol - which deserves it's own post. Maybe I will write about that another time. Due to the 20 year difference between the release dates of the two movies, I am much better placed now to understand what the director is trying to achieve with the cinematography, charaterisation and direction than I was as a naive 14/15 year old watching Before Sunrise for the first time.

In writing this post I noticed an overall pattern with my favourite movies. Other movies that sit in my all time favourites list are the 2003 movie "Lost in Translation," the 2004 movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and the 2011 movie "Like Crazy". The pattern I am noticing is that I genuinely love those thought provoking movies about love and the soul connecting. And this is despite whatever the outer circumstances are presented by the narrative of the film. In my view the soul feels alive when it is in connection with something else. Whether that is with another soul or with an aspect of life, say job or hobbies, the importance of a connection is what keeps someone feeling excited and alive.

Note: After the 1995 release Before Sunrise subsequently had two other releases. Before Sunset in 2003 and Before Midnight in 2013 - which took the viewer through the development of these characters through the different ages and journeys of their lives. In my view the other 2 movies are equally good, but not as groundbreaking as the original.