Set in 1950s New York, two women from very different backgrounds (Kate Blanchett and Rooney Mara) find themselves in the throes of love in 'Carol'. As conventional norms of the time challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change.

The score is composed by Carter Burwell, best known for his work on Coen Bros. films and 'Twilight'. Burwell graduated from Harvard College in 1977 and whilst at Harvard he studied animation with Mary Beams and George Griffin, electronic music with Ivan Tcherepnin, and pursued a course of independent study at the MIT Media Lab (then known as the Architecture Machine Group). After graduation he became a teaching assistant in the Harvard Electronic Music Studio.

In 1979 his animated film 'Help, I'm Being Crushed to Death by a Black Rectangle', won first place at the Jacksonville Film Festival and second place at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. The rest, as they say, is history, given Burwell went on to score for the aforementioned 'Twilight' and 'Miller’s Crossing,' 'Barton Fink,' 'The Hudsucker Proxy,' 'Rob Roy,' 'Fargo,' 'Conspiracy Theory,' 'The Spanish Prisoner,' 'Gods and Monsters,' and amongst en mass of others, 'Being John Malkovich.'

This original score by Carter Burwell features songs that consist mainly of Jazz and Pop gems of the era portrayed in the film ie: Billie Holliday, Les Paul, Mary Ford, and so forth. With other music performed by The Clovers, Georgia Gibbs, Jo Stafford and such, there are notable songs sung in the film that do not make it (sadly) onto this soundtrack score. Songs such as "Willow Weep for Me" performed by Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks Orchestra, "A Garden in the Rain" performed by The Four Aces, "Perdido" performed by Woody Herman, "That's The Chance You Take" by Eddie Fisher, "Slow Poke" by Pee Wee King, and "Why Don't You Believe Me" performed by Patti Page.

As for what we have here from Burwell, the score truly brings everything together in a beautiful, tender way; particularly since the script obviously relies so much on the non-verbal ie: sets, expressions, sounds, and so on. Ergo, Burwell's 'Carol' is a delightful accompaniment to a film that will soon become on the Oscar darlings for 2016.

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