Based on the 1952 literary classic The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Todd Haynes’ 2015 romantic drama Carol was a critical darling, even if it made some changes to the source material. With Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara leading the cast, Carol revolved around a forbidden love affair between Therese Belivet (Mara), an aspiring photographer, and Carol Aird (Blanchett), an older woman trapped in a troubled marriage. Powered by Blanchett and Mara’s stellar performances, the film garnered six Oscar nominations and was ranked by the British Film Institute as the best Lgbtqia+ film of all time in 2016, and has developed a cult following.

Initially renowned for writing psychological thrillers with a modernist outlook, Highsmith has had many film adaptations of her work, including her first novel Strangers on a Train which was later adapted as an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece. Due to the controversial reactions a lesbian novel might garner, Highsmith...