What Makes Carol A Different Noir Film?

Set during the Christmas season of 1952, Therese (Rooney Mara) becomes smitten with housewife Carol (Cate Blanchett) who comes into the department store she works at. The feeling is very much reciprocated. After a second encounter, the two grow closer and it would seem nothing can hold them back from advancing their relationship into a love affair. But this is the 1950s, a conservative time when a queer romance had to be kept to the shadows. Carol and Therese navigate these rough waters but something has to give. The affair is discovered and the consequences prove devastating at first. During the entirety of Carol, there’s something familiar to the proceedings. It’s a film noir, hitting the typical story beats belonging to the genre although with far more restraint.