Claim: Cate Blanchett acted in a film.

Carol is a 2015 British-American romantic drama film directed by Todd Haynes . The screenplay , written by Phyllis Nagy , is based on the 1952 romance novel The Price of Salt -LRB- also known as Carol -RRB- by Patricia Highsmith . The film stars Cate Blanchett , Rooney Mara , Sarah Paulson , Jake Lacy and Kyle Chandler . Set in New York City during the early 1950s , Carol tells the story of a forbidden affair between an aspiring female photographer and an older woman going through a difficult divorce .   Carol had been in development since 1997 , when Nagy wrote the first draft of the screenplay . British company Film4 Productions and its then-chief executive Tessa Ross financed development . The film had a troubled development period , facing problems with financing , rights , scheduling conflicts , and accessibility . Number 9 Films came on board as a producer in 2011 , when co-founder Elizabeth Karlsen secured the rights to the novel . The film is co-produced by New York-based Killer Films , which joined the project when co-founder and Haynes 's collaborator Christine Vachon approached Haynes to direct in 2013 . Principal photography began in March 2014 , in Cincinnati , Ohio , and lasted 34 days . Cinematographer Edward Lachman shot Carol on Super 16 mm film .   Carol competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival , where Mara tied for the Best Actress award . The film received critical acclaim and many accolades , including six Academy Award nominations , five Golden Globe Award nominations , and nine BAFTA Award nominations as well as awards from the New York Film Critics Circle , Los Angeles Film Critics Association , and National Society of Film Critics . The film opened in limited release in the United States on November 20 , 2015 , and wide release on January 15 , 2016 . It was released in the United Kingdom on November 27 , 2015 .