Carol
"Carol" just might be the best LGBTQ+ movie I've ever watched. I've never believed a gay love story as much as I do this one.
The plot is grounded in realism and everyday conflict. Carol Aird, our titular character is a woman stuck in a relationship with a still attached husband while she tries to live as a woman who like women. The naive other half to this story is Therese Belivet, a woman with an interesting name, a passion for photography, and a mundane day job at a retail store. When Carol goes shopping one day before Christmas and leaves her gloves on the counter after a conversation and transaction with Therese, story ensues.
This is slow burn romance mixed perfectly with love (or at very least, heavy curiosity) at first sight, done right. Both Carol and Therese are clearly into each other, and while Carol is extremely forward, she maintains respect for Therese's boundaries, slowly chipping away at them until Therese is ready to engage. They don't even kiss until halfway through the movie.
The technical aspects of this film really are astounding. The use of 35mm film is perfect. The grain adds to the realism of the story and makes you feel like an omniscient observer of a chunk of the private lives of a developing and forbidden crush in the 1950s. I could swear I was actually there, watching every scene. The shot composition of this film is crazy. Half obscuring shots that only show what needs to be seen, wide shots that focus entirely on one key object of person. Tight shots for intimacy. it's beautiful.
Supporting characters played by people like Sarah Paulson and Jake Lacy carry their weight and feel just as valid as our main characters. The homophobia in the movie is subtle but spot on and the way characters dance around the subject of a same sex pairing only support the audiences vies of the characters even more. Carol's husband uses a "morality clause" against her, while Therese's boyfriend says he simply believes two people of the same sex cannot fall in love with each other.
The ending is perfect.
This movie is a treat and the Academy gave it the worst possible treatment they could have. This is really the gold standard of queer media.