BOOK VS MOVIE: The Price of Salt/Carol

Love is a sensation unlike any other. It's a feeling that you only encounter once or twice in your lifetime but it's one that can be all-consuming. It's a feeling that's completely original, one that's indescribable.

And there have been countless works revolving around that very subject. Books, movies, plays, poetry, songs...it's basically the most popular topic around. Of course when the word gets thrown around a lot, it starts to lose its meaning. Thankfully there are those who make sure that the word doesn't lose its impact.

Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt focuses on a young woman's budding relationship with an older woman. This being a book published during the early 1950s, it caused somewhat of a shock during this wholesome era. (Originally using the nom de plume Claire Morgan, Highsmith didn't associate herself with her second novel until later in life.) But like what E.M. Forster did with Maurice, Highsmith shows that love has no boundaries.

Todd Haynes' film Carol alters several details of Highsmith's novel but it maintains the forbidden romance of its day. (Haynes also shines a light on a subject that he only gave a faint interest towards in Far from Heaven.) With its meticulous costume and set designs, the film displays a sharp defiance beneath the composed dispositions. (Not to mention that heteronormativity is the worst.)

Between Highsmith's novel and Haynes' film, both show a lifestyle hidden beneath the glitz and glamour of the 1950s. But both works on their own stand out so deciding which is better is hard to say. Then again, there is another option...

What's worth checking out?: Both.

Safe

Carol White (Julianne Moore) of Todd Haynes' Safe has a good life though a dull one. Married but sexually unsatisfied, a housewife though bored, content yet ambitionless. Then...something...begins to happen to her.

In a stark contrast from Haynes and Moore's next film Far From Heaven, Safe moves away from the comfortable domesticity of the former film. It instead focuses on the suffocating nature of life people sometimes encounter. (It is common, you know.)

It's a small detail of Safe but it's one worth bringing up. The white noise heard throughout the film adds a certain sense of paranoia. The noises from television sets and radios only makes it more clear that something isn't right with Carol.

And Moore's performance is one that must be seen. This was only a few years before she got her first of five nominations, and it's clear that her work here should have gotten more recognition than it did. This was proof that she really knew what she was doing as an actress.

Safe has its flaws but it really gets under your skin. Thanks to the work from Haynes and Moore, it's a film that will linger in your mind long after it's finished. Sometimes the scariest things are those around you...

My Rating: ****

Velvet Goldmine

Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine is a but surreal. It describes itself as a portrait of a pop star's rise to fame. In reality, it's a portrait of a whole era.

Intersecting between 1970's London and 1984 New York City, the film shows how distinct and different the two time periods are. London was full of vibrant colors, New York City full of dull shades. Safe to say which era and locale was the most ideal.

The main subject of Velvet Goldmine is Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a musician who is a clear homage to David Bowie. He rises to the top of the music world fast, but his fall is just as quick. He strives to stand out in a constantly changing society.

Part of the film zeroes in on Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), a fellow musician in a similar vein to Iggy Pop. When Brian first sees Curt perform, he is hypnotized. Not just by the wild antics Curt does on stage, but also by the music. That's the sound he wants.

Velvet Goldmine is amusing even though it gets manic frequently. The music is good, so is the acting. The Citizen Kane references are a nice touch, but they don't make up for a slightly disorganized film.

My Rating: ****

I'm Not There

There are some movies that are different from the rest. Their style isn't the conventional type, making them stand out from the rest.

This is the case with Todd Haynes' I'm Not There. I was already familiar with Haynes with Far from Heaven, so it's natural that I was thrown through a loop with I'm Not There. The narratives for both of them are on different spectrums, Far from Heaven being easy flowing and I'm Not There sporadic.

The cast for I'm Not There is impressive. Among the actors portraying Bob Dylan's personas include Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw and Richard Gere. Of them, I liked Ledger and Blanchett the most. They capture the right portrayal of aloofness towards society. It doesn't mean they're self-absorbed; they just don't care.

I'm Not There is quite good, but it feels disoriented. It jumps from different time periods frequently, so it feels hard to follow sometimes. That said, I thought it was very well-acted. But all in all, it's mostly style over substance.

My Rating: ****

Far from Heaven

I've been vocal about this before, but Julianne Moore should really have an Oscar by now. She has become one of my favorite working actresses and I consider it an insult that she doesn't have solid proof of how great an actress she is.

Cathy Whitaker (Moore) is living the ideal life, one that makes most women envy her. But Cathy's dream life comes crashing down when she sees her husband Frank (Dennis Quaid) kissing another man and rumors about her start to spread that she's getting a little too acquainted with her gardener Raymond Deagan (Dennis Haysbert).

Far from Heaven feels like it's actually from the 1950s, not just set during that time period. A contributing factor for that is the Elmer Bernstein score. Moore and Quaid give career best performances, making the fact that an Oscar eluded Moore and a nomination eluded Quaid more derogatory. It's kind of appalling that 1950s behavior was probably like that. Homosexuality was considered a disease? A white woman seen with a black man causes scandal? Good Lord, they must've been trying really hard to preserve the "perfect image". To quote Some Like It Hot, nobody's perfect. Anyway, before I get sidetracked, back to what I was saying. Far from Heaven creates a excellent atmosphere of the 1950s, a past which covered the truth with artificial smiles.

My Rating: ****1/2