Certificate: 15

Running Time: 119 mins

Star Rating: 4/5

LOVE tears good people apart in Todd Haynes' masterful period drama based on the novel The Price Of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. Elegantly adapted by Phyllis Nagy, Carol charts an unlikely romance between a shop girl and a glamorous housewife against the backdrop of early 1950s New York.

The impeccable style of the era conceals a maelstrom of messy, raw emotion, which overflows in the film's heartbreaking second act as forbidden lovers discover the terrible cost of their liaisons.

In a year blessed with extraordinary performances from actresses, Haynes' picture boasts the mesmerizing on-screen pairing of Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett as independent women from opposite sides of the social divide, who seek refuge in each other's arms.

They are both exquisite, exposing the chinks in their characters' brittle armour as giddiness turns to despair in the cold light of day. Every line of dialogue is beautifully tailored, complemented by gorgeous costumes and production design that capture the restrictive social mores of a time when every conversation was conducted beneath gently entwining tendrils of smoke.

Mara plays shrinking violet Therese Belivet, who works in the toy section of Frankenberg's department store. She has an adoring boyfriend, Richard (Jake Lacy), but her humdrum life lacks excitement until Carol Aird (Blanchett) sashays into the store looking for a Christmas present. The two women exchange pleasantries and Carol orders an expensive train set.

She leaves, forgetting her pair of black leather gloves. Therese kindly returns them and Carol reciprocates with an offer of lunch. The bond between the women deepens, kindling a passionate affair, which forces Carol's estranged husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) to seek sole custody of their daughter.

Carol is a triumph, anchored by Mara and Blanchett's flawless embodiment of their star-crossed protagonists. Director Haynes is no stranger to the era, having considered matters of class and sexual orientation in suburban 1950s Connecticut in the Oscar nominated drama Far From Heaven.

He is equally accomplished here, rendering the emotional devastation in meticulous, controlled brushstrokes. We're spellbound as his paint dries.