To capture Highsmith’s 1950s New York, CAROL was shot in Cincinnati, OHIO over the course of 35 days. The pre-war buildings and apartments in Cincinnati mirrored New York in the 1950s and created a realistic time and place for the story to be recreated. 

In completing production on the film, producer Stephen Woolley said, “CAROL is very close to Patricia Highsmith’s novel and I think that’s an art in itself. It’s very difficult to take a book and write the script of that book in a way that comes to life on film for audiences. CAROL enables audiences to experience The Price of Salt. And that’s an art— an invisible art that audiences can appreciate in our film.” 

To shoot the film, Ed Lachman joined Haynes as the Director of Photography. The film was shot on Super 16 millimeter which made it look like it was 35 millimeter in that time period. Having worked with Haynes before on Mildred Pierce, Far From Heaven and I’m Not There, Lachman said, “Todd and I have a wonderful kind of yin-yang relationship that so many great ideas and perspectives come from. We discovered the language in this film which I like to call a ‘poetic realism.’ We reference certain mid-century photographers then branched out to look at what women photographers of the 1950s were doing at that time.”

In their research, Lachman and Haynes explored how images of the era had a certain poetic look at things and a subjective viewpoint they wanted to model in the film. “Cinematography or telling stories in images is what will tell a psychological truth in a film,” said Lachman. “That’s what Todd and I are always trying to do— find the visual context of the story. And so to do that, we implement psychology in the way the camera moves, the lighting, and the set and costume design.”

Sandy Powell helped create Haynes’ and Lachman’s vision as the Costume Designer of CAROL. She took a naturalistic approach to dressing them as she said, “My job was to help create the characters and make them believable to each other and audiences. I wanted Carol to be fashionable, but understated— somebody a character like Therese would look up to and be impressed by as well.” In collaboration with Powell, Makeup Artist Patricia Regan and Hair Stylist Jerry Decarlo further evolved the physical identity of each character.

Production Designer, Judy Becker, chose to work with a very specific color palette that was based on the colors used in the early 1950s. The film really emphasized, especially in the interiors, the sour greens, yellows, and dirty pinks of the era— slightly soiled colors that give the viewer the feeling of the post-war city before the brightness of the Eisenhower administration had taken over. To bring the final touches to the interior spaces, Set Director Heather Loeffler, added the elements that make a place feel lived in by a particular character. For example, with Carol, she left magazines and books around the house, implicating the idea that she was bored or was looking for things to do.

Every element of the story was reimagined for the screen, painting a visually honest picture of society in the midst of change. CAROL is a beautifully realized and impeccably acted piece of filmmaking.

電影製作

深入俄亥俄州中部 重塑戰後美國 貼近小說場景

本片以五十年美國紐約為背景，因此班底移師俄亥俄州中部辛拿市，借用當地於50年代按照紐約建築風格建造的戰前老房子，以模仿當年的場景。

監製史提芬禾利為了營造小說的氣氛，小心翼翼參照書中橋段，《卡露的情人》是一部改編中的經典。他說:「根據小說的改編電影往往跟閱讀的想像很不同，但這部片的改編經過仔細的考量，觀影經驗必定勝過單看書本。這是一件改編的藝術，觀眾必定收貨。」另外，攝影方面，導演夥拍愛德華利翠文，他們以前已經於《幻世浮生》、《天上人間》、《七人一個卜戴倫》等三部作品合作過，並以16毫米菲林攝製，以營造當年35毫米菲林的效果。愛德華表示：「我跟托迪是兄弟一般的關係，本片很多拍攝的靈感都來自他的建議，這部富有詩意真實感的電影根據50年代攝影師拍下來女性的照片作參考，以聯想她們的形象。」攝影是電影構造現實最重要的一環，經過很長的考究過程，導演才下定決心以柔和的顏色表現女性之間的愛，所以攝影機的移動，燈光的調校，現場的走位及服裝都必須配合。

服裝、美術精英盡出  重現50年代風貌  描繪時代女性裝束

本片服裝由星級設計師辛迪鮑威爾設計，她曾十度入圍英國影藝學院電影獎及奧斯卡最佳服裝設計，辛迪為《卡露的情人》打造精緻美麗的服裝，她說:「我的工作是把所有演員打造成令人信服的五十年代人，我希望卡露這角色能以很緊貼潮流的形象出現，她的造型亦必須令泰麗詩留下深刻印象。」美術及道具指導茱迪碧加堅持以五十年代的顏色。在佈景及室內裝潢方面，她刻意用橄欖綠、黃及深粉紅以造出那二戰後城市灰矇矇的模樣。

製作團隊使出混身解數，片中的各方面細緻度令人驚嘆，每一個畫面都是細心安排，畫出一幅幅逼真細緻的畫，費盡心思的佈置及演員實而不華的演技為觀眾獻上一部五十年代的溫情故事。