Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett Smolder in Carol Trailer

Today the Weinstein Company released their first full-length trailer for director Todd Haynes’ Carol, the studio’s Palme D’Or competition entry at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (earning co-star Rooney Mara a tie for Best Actress with Emmanuel Bercot for Mon Roi.) An Official Selection for competition at the New York Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival, Carol looks to be a major player come awards season.

Carol is the story of a department store clerk Therese Belivet (Mara) in her 20s who falls for Carol (Blacnhett), an older married socialite. Set in New York City in 1952, the film is based on Patricia Highsmith’s "The Price Of Salt" (The Talented Mr. Ripley), with a screenplay by Phyllis Nagy. The film also stars Sarah Paulson as Carol’s best friend Abby and Kyle Chandler as her husband Harge, with whom she is locked in a nasty custody battle.

In its 2.23 minutes, the trailer is brilliant in effectively capturing the tension within Carol’s world and relationships – with Mara’s lovesick Therese, with her confused, hurt husband Harge, with her own age and wealth, and with a time when lesbian relationships were punished and men held all the cards. It is a testament to her ability as an actress how much Blanchett can say through a simple glance.

“Dearest, there are no accidents and everything comes full circle. No explanation I offer will satisfy you," Carol tells Therese. "You seek resolution because you are young, but you will understand this one day… Everything comes full circle and when it happens I want you to imagine me there to greet you… And I would not deny it; would you?”

Carol is scheduled for limited release on November 20, 2015.

Featured image: Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett star in Carol. Courtesy the Weinstein Company.