Interview: Carol's Production Design Judy Becker

Judy Becker. Photo © Tom Uhlman at New York TimesThis won't have escaped you but we're a little bit obsessed with Todd Haynes's Carol. We tried to devote a week to it but the love can't be contained by calendars. The romantic drama about a glamorous society wife and a young shopgirl is rolling out slowly -- agonizingly slowly -- to more cities each week. It leads the Golden Globe nominations and though the Academy's decisions about the year's "best" are yet to come, there's reason to be hopeful that they'll embrace the filmmaker's triumphant return to the silver screen.

The Oscar-nominated production designer Judy Becker (American Hustle), is responsible for most everything you see onscreen in Carol from Therese's humble apartment to Frankenberg's Department Store, the Aird estate, and much more. "The props, there are close-ups on them, so I don’t know how you can say, that’s not important," she says passionately, underlining the fact that everything we see is part of 'the look'. She describes herself as a very hands-on designer and is sure this drives new members of her staff crazy but she has high praise for her frequent set decorator Heather Loeffler. "She never gets upset if I veto something but, at the same time, she brings a lot to the table and surprises me all the time with great stuff."

Though Becker is best known for her frequent collaborations with  David O. Russell this is not her first Todd Haynes film, having also designed his abstract Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There (2007). We began our chat marvelling at his genius. Though I'm Not There was a larger scale task, essentially designing multiple worlds, Carol wasn't much easier for different reasons. "Every film has its challenges," she explains. And films as gorgeously realized as Carol don't happen without a lot of planning, work, and inspiration. 

Our interview is after the jump...

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While We Wait for Carol...

The natives are growing restless.

Greetings friends. Chris here, the newest member of Team Experience. Like I'm assuming many of you, I live far away from the lucky 16 theatres currently housing Todd Haynes' return to the big screen. So I'm happy with even the slightest shift that brings Carol's glacial release to my local screens. Non-US readers have an even longer wait. We've all become the human embodiment of that inescapable Rooney Mara image.

It's worth noting amid all our impatience the cautionary tale told this year by the likes of Steve Jobs and The Diary of a Teenage Girl: going too wide too soon can result in a quick crash and burn in this increasingly crowded marketplace. So let's take a breather and feel grateful that Carol has a distributor like The Weinstein Co. focused on reaching a passionate audience, even if it means waiting longer than we want. After all, the film is still the film no matter when we see it.

Meanwhile, I've got 10 fun homework assignments to keep you occupied while you wait...

 1. Read Patricia Highsmith's novel (also published as The Price of Salt). The film is not a page-to-page adaptation, so some surprises will still be ahead - including more of our titular love interest!

2. Rewatch the Todd Haynes filmography! I'll do the leg work for you: Velvet Goldmine is availble on Netflix Instant, Poison and I'm Not There on Amazon Prime...

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"Carol" Week: Carol's Style

Manuel here, continuing our Carol week festivities.

Carol Aird always looks like she’s stepped right out of a fashion spread. Or rather, she wouldn’t look out of place if she were to walk into one. She’s always so impeccably dressed, courtesy of course, of one Ms Sandy Powell.

“Category is: Femme Butch Realness”

I was half-joking when I wrote that note down as I finished Haynes’s film back in NYFF but the more I savored the concept, the more apt it became as a description of Mrs Aird...

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"Carol" Week: An Evening with Cinematographer Ed Lachman

Kieran, here wishing everyone a very happy Carol week.  If ever there was a film that truly deserved an entire week dedicated to celebrating it, it’s Todd Haynes’ sumptuous cinematic buffet. The film is a rare animal in the landscape in that it truly feels like every element of its filmmaking works cohesively in service of the overall vision. That was apparent on a re-watch last Friday evening in Los Angeles and even more so afterwards listening to cinematographer Edward Lachman talk to the audience about the process of finding the appropriate look for it after the screening.

“Todd always does great research before every film,” one of the many moments of him singing his director’s praises.  “One of the greatest mandates was making sure it didn’t resemble Far From Heaven,” Lachman stated.  [More...]

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Who Wore It Best? Todd Haynes Edition

For Carol Week, all I, Dancin' Dan, would like to talk about, is the men. 

Well, the man. That would be Kyle Chandler as The Husband, Harge Aird.

He delivers wonderful supporting work that should be garnering awards attention. But all I've been thinking about since seeing him with his slicked-back hair and 50s-style tailored suits is.... well, another man.

THAT man would be Dennis Quaid, who played The Husband in Haynes's other 1950s melodrama masterpiece, Far From Heaven.

Quaid also delivered a wonderful supporting performance that should had gotten more awards attention, and he looked perhaps the best he has ever looked (quite a feat) in Sandy Powell's luxe costumes and era-appropriate slicked-back hair.

So with all that said, WHO WORE IT BEST?