Cate Blanchett: 'There's a swathe of great roles for women'

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara at Wednesday night's Carol screening

Cate Blanchett has said there's a "swathe of great roles for women" in film.

The Australian star was speaking ahead of a screening of romantic period drama Carol at the BFI London Film Festival.

Adapted from Patricia Highsmith novel The Price of Salt, the film tells the story of two women who fall in love in 1950s New York.

Both Blanchett and co-star Rooney Mara have been widely tipped for Oscar nominations for their roles.

Speaking before the screening, Blanchett said: "Every time there are interesting complex roles played by actresses on screen someone asks, 'does this mean there's going to be more of the same?'

"We seem to every year find ourselves in the same conversation, that somehow it's remarkable.

"I think there's a swathe of great roles for women and swathe of wonderful female performers. I think it's just time to get on with it."

Blanchett plays alluring married woman Carol Aird, who meets young department store clerk Therese Belivet, played by Mara.

The couple form an instant connection and fall in love. Carol faces losing custody of her daughter in a bitter divorce battle because of her affair with a woman.

Blanchett said Carol's storyline might have been deemed "more political" had it been made a few years ago.

"I think the landscape around the conversation around same-sex relationships has advanced in a lot of countries.

"The universality of the love story comes to the fore, rather than any sort of political agenda."

Both Mara (left) and Blanchett are receiving Oscar buzz for their performances

Blanchett said the film, directed by Todd Haynes, focused on the "timeless nature" of falling in love.

"There's a sense that people who fall in love in the '50s - because they are wearing girdles - don't feel the same things that we feel."

She said falling in love felt like something that "no-one else has experienced".

"It's dangerous, you're out of control. It's akin to panic and fear. Your heart literally beats faster.

"That doesn't change whether you are wearing a corset or a G-string."