I never got Weinstein’s Macbeth, but I’m glad to finally have this one even if I’m very critical of the push to put Mara in the corner (ergo Supporting Actress).

Carol

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy
Director: Todd Haynes
Premise: From IMDb: “Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.”
Oscar Chances: Strong: The competition is heavy this year, but this Cannes Festival winner has been chugging along almost non-stop since then. With several fairly certain nominations, this one has only one major hurdle left to figure out. Will Rooney Mara be pushed into lead by the Academy (where most believe she belongs) or if she’ll be shunted into Supporting Actress to avoid competition. Apart from that, the film should end up with a high single digit nomination tally.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Christine Vachon)
• Best Directing (Todd Haynes)
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Phyllis Nagy)
• Best Actress (Cate Blanchett)
• Best Supporting Actor (Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy)
• Best Supporting Actress (Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson)
• Best Cinematography (Ed Lachman)
• Best Film Editing (Affonso Goncalves)
• Best Production Design (Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler)
• Best Costume Design (Sandy Powell)
• Best Original Score (Carter Burwell)
• Best Makeup & Hairstyling (Jerry DeCarlo, Patirica Regan)
• Best Sound Editing (Eliza Paley, James Redding)
• Best Sound Mixing (Leslie Shatz, Geoff Maxwell)
• Best Visual Effects (Chris Haney)

Rotten Tomatoes:
94% (117 critics; as of 12/10/15)
Metacritic:
95 out of 100 (33 critics; as of 12/10/15)