Cate Blanchett has said her latest film, Carol, is not political.

Todd Haynes’s drama, which stars the Oscar-winning actress and Rooney Mara as two women falling in love in 1950s New York, was written by Phyllis Nagy and based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel, The Price Of Salt.

Cate Blanchett in Carol
Cate Blanchett in Carol (StudioCanal)

Despite the focus on women, the Australian star explained: “The power of Carol is that it’s an apolitical film.

“Only Todd Haynes, who has such an outsider’s aesthetic, which is what makes his films dangerous and compelling and unusual, could have made a film about two female characters falling in love… And somehow, in the most wonderful, empowering way, normalised it.”

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara (Ian West/PA)

Carol has been touted as period-defining – even a “lesbian cult classic” – but Cate said the lesbian aspect isn’t the main focus on the film: “It’s about two people falling in love, in the way that Romeo And Juliet is.

“The film has a universal quality to it where the women’s gender is absolutely vital, [an] impediment to them consummating their love, but it’s not the point of the film.”

Cate Blanchett and husband Andrew Upton
Cate Blanchett and husband Andrew Upton (Alex J. Berliner/AP)

In the drama, mother-of-one Carol grants her estranged husband full custody of her daughter as opposed to living a lie, and mother-of-four Cate – who has three biological sons and an adopted daughter with her playwright and screenwriter husband, Andrew Upton – confessed she could have some sympathy with her character.

The actress explained: “Part of your job as an actor is to imagine your way into a character and you grow through placing yourself in someone else’s shoes.

“I don’t try and bring my own experience to it, as every mother is different, but yes, I did feel the pain that Carol was feeling, for sure.”

Carol is in UK cinemas now.