The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Carol
Romance · Drama · 2015
In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Movie details
Carol
“Some people change your life forever.”
2015 Romance · Drama 1h 58m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.5 / 10
Community rating
In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Carol?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Adrenaline Seeker
“If it slows down, you check your phone.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
One Day
Drama · 2011
After spending the night together on the eve of their college graduation, Dexter and Emma are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, and sometimes not.
Phantom Thread
Drama · 2017
In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.
Love at First Sight
Romance · 2023
Hadley and Oliver begin falling in love on a flight from New York to London, but when they lose each other at customs, can they defy all odds to reunite?
An Affair to Remember
Drama · 1957
A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
The Bridges of Madison County
Drama · 1995
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
The Way We Were
Drama · 1973
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.
Girls Like Girls
Romance · 2026
After her mother's passing, 17-year-old Coley navigates new feelings of intimacy with Sonya in rural Oregon, where both girls must overcome their mutual uncertainties and self-doubt to embrace their connection.
Love Story
Romance · 1970
Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. Jenny tries to reconcile the Barrett men, but to no avail.
Women in Love
Drama · 1969
Growing up in the sheltered confines of a 1920s English coal-mining community, free-spirited sisters Gudrun and Ursula explore erotic love with a wealthy playboy and a philosophical educator, with cataclysmic results for all four.
Wonderstruck
Drama · 2017
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Todd Haynes
Written by
Phyllis Nagy
Cate Blanchett
Carol Aird
Rooney Mara
Therese Belivet
Kyle Chandler
Harge Aird
Jake Lacy
Richard Semco
Sarah Paulson
Abby Gerhard
John Magaro
Dannie McElroy
Cory Michael Smith
Tommy Tucker
Court is in session
Put Carol on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.