Lesbian love story Carol is named as best gay film of all time by panel of experts 

  • The raunchy film stars actresses Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara 
  • Panel of experts voted the movie as number one for British Film Institute
  • It beat the likes of Brokeback Mountain and British production Weekend 
  • Carol tells the story of a married woman who falls in love with a shop girl

By Anthony Joseph for MailOnline

Published: 01:02 EST, 16 March 2016 | Updated: 05:33 EST, 16 March 2016

The film stars Cate Blanchett (left) and Rooney Mara

The film stars Cate Blanchett (left) and Rooney Mara

The lesbian love film Carol has been named as the best gay movie of all time. 

The film which stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara beat the likes of Brokeback Mountain and British production Weekend to the prestigious title.

It was voted as the top by a panel of 100 experts for the British Film Institute in a poll which was conducted to mark the 30th anniversary BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival - the country's longest running lesbian and gay film event.

Tricia Tuttle, deputy head of festivals BFI, said: 'Carol's win excites us because it's great to see a film about two women in love enjoy such prominence, particularly given cinema's relative lack of lesbian content.'

Director Todd Haynes said Carol, released in November last year, was in illustrious company on the list with other films, which also included Un Chant d'Amou' and My Own Private Idaho.

Carol is based on the 1952 novel 'The Price of Salt' by Patricia Highsmith, is the story of a wealthy married woman (Blanchett) who falls in love with an ambitious New York shop girl played by Mara in the 1950s.

It portrays a young woman in her 20s, Therese, a clerk who works in a Manhattan department store.

Dreaming of a more fulfilling life, she meets Carol, an alluring woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage of convenience. 

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As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens.

Carol's husband (Kyle Chandler) threatens her competence as a mother when her involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) comes to light.

As Carol leaves the comfort of home to travel with Therese, she takes on a journey of self-discovery.

Carol is based on the 1952 novel 'The Price of Salt' by Patricia Highsmith, is the story of a wealthy married woman (Blanchett) who falls in love with an ambitious New York shop girl played by Mara in the 1950s

Carol is based on the 1952 novel 'The Price of Salt' by Patricia Highsmith, is the story of a wealthy married woman (Blanchett) who falls in love with an ambitious New York shop girl played by Mara in the 1950s

It portrays a young woman in her 20s, Therese, a clerk who works in a Manhattan department store

It portrays a young woman in her 20s, Therese, a clerk who works in a Manhattan department store

Dreaming of a more fulfilling life, she meets Carol, an alluring woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage of convenience

Dreaming of a more fulfilling life, she meets Carol, an alluring woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage of convenience

It received critical acclaim upon its release last year, earning six Academy Award nominations including best actress and best supporting actress and nine BAFTA nominations although it did not win at either award ceremony.

The film rated second, Weekend, a 2011 gay romance, hit the headlines this month when it was given the worst possible rating by an influential Catholic Church body.

The Vatican-based Italian Conference of Bishops' Film Evaluation Commission rated the film 'not advised, unusuable, scabrous' and its distributor Teodora Film had to scale back its release in Italy where some cinemas are owned by the church.

THE TOP 10 GAY FILMS OF ALL TIME, ACCORDING TO BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

  1. Carol (Todd Haynes, USA 2015)
  2. Weekend (Andrew Haigh, UK 2011).
  3. Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong/Japan/South Korea 1997).
  4. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, USA/ Canada 2005).
  5. Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, USA 1990).
  6. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/France/Germany/Italy 2004)
  7. My Beautiful Laundrette (Stephen Frears, UK 1985).
  8. All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain/France 1999).
  9. Un Chant d’Amour (Jean Genet, France 1950).
  10. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, USA 1991)

 

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