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Starring: Julianne Moore, Peter Friedman, Xander Berkeley

Directed by: Todd Haynes

Why do bad things happen to good people? There are times when we have no answers to things which happen to us. One such example is that of Carol a homemaker who loves decorating her house. She is a person who has had it all in her life a loving husband, a good stepson, a nice house all the basics need to live a fulfilling life. But just then she is treated with one of the worst fears of the 21 st century environmental illness. This is caused when normal people who have had no physical ailments in their whole life begin to show signs of suffocation and sometimes even bleeding due to inhaling of fumes, pollen and many other chemicals we take for granted. Carol is left with no reason for her sudden illness. Doctors are mostly foreign to such diseases and then write them off as stress related. But this begins to destroy Carol’s life when she has nowhere to go to find answers. The plight of this woman begins to worsen when she finds out about place which treats such people. The place she goes is more like a safe house where she starts to find answers but also very utopic in its ideals. It is a place to find solace yet breeds a sorry plight for its roomies.

The film has a somber feel and warning us throughout of the impending danger. There is a Kubrick feel to the whole structure of the film. He takes more landscape shots mostly observing Carol as a specimen. There are also scenes of anger shot with such disgust you would like to look away. The dialogs on the other hand are very frugal leaving lot of time for interpretation.

There is also some scalping with time done in many scenes which creates a general mood of dread. The movie ends with a controlled cry by Carol who looks into the screen while looking at some of her pictures. She just mouths the words I love you couple of times. It sheds light on the helplessness of the state of things and reminds us of the works of Satyajit Ray. It will take time and patience to go through this film but the impression it leaves is one to be felt. Julliane Moore almost kills you softly with her innocent portrayal of Carol. She leaves you feeling sorry for what you have done for the planet. She is used as an ode by the director to share his views of what the world has turned into.

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