By George & Josh Bate
The outlaw romance genre, arguably pioneered by 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde and followed by seemingly countless derivations, has certainly become over-saturated in recent years, but director Adam Carter Rehmeier (mostly) finds a way to overcome the over-familarity of this trope in Carolina Caroline, a new romance crime thriller soaked in retro flair.
Carolina Caroline stars Samara Weaving as Caroline, a disillusioned Texan gas station worker lulled into tedium by an uneventful life. This changes when Caroline comes across Oliver (Kyle Gallner), a charismatic con man she is instantly drawn to. The two decide to make a journey to South Carolina, where Caroline hopes to be reunited with her estranged mother, and carry out a series of robberies and cons along the way that puts their fast romance in jeopardy.
Rehmeier imbues Carolina Caroline with a retro quality that immediately evokes memories of Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, Gun Crazy, and Badlands. The film doesn’t clue the audience into the year in which it takes place until very late into the runtime after a character’s birth year is off-handedly mentioned. There are no smart phones and no modern technology, and yet the film could just as easily be set in 2026 as it is in 1976, giving it not only a retro feel but a timeless quality.
The less-than-picturesque depiction of the American South cements Carolina Caroline’s ambiguous time period. The film unfolds entirely in small towns in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and other Southern states that likely look very similar now as they did 40 years ago. There’s a barren, almost depressive quality to the America that Rehmeier depicts, one characterized by seedy bars, desolate stretches of road and fields, and a sense that the rest of the world is moving at a much brisker pace.
This latter point proves critical to Samara Weaving’s protagonist, a young woman who uproots her safe yet monotonous life to saddle up with a mystery man for a life of crime. Weaving has been prolific in the horror/thriller comedy space for nearly a decade now, but her role in Carolina Caroline affirms, if it wasn’t abundantly clear already, that the Australian actress has a real old school movie star quality about her. Her performance as a doe-eyed, exceedingly hopeful young woman would fit seamlessly in the kinds of 1970s crime thriller Rehmeier is clearly inspired by. Weaving effortlessly wins the audience over with her quirky facial expressions and endearing curiosity, crafting a lead character we can’t help but root for and care about.
Opposite Weaving is the remarkably underappreciated Kyle Gallner. The actor known for his roles in Smallville and Strange Darling enters the film with charisma in spades, introducing himself to the audience (and Weaving’s character) with a nifty quick-change scam. Gallner plays the role of a drifting con man compellingly, even if William Thomas Dean IV’s screenplay fails to examine his motivations for being a criminal, beyond a brief and ultimately contradictory bit of expository dialogue. So little is known about Gallner’s Oliver, his background, and what drives him that Gallner is given a difficult task to earn the audience’s care and empathy, a feat he manages to pull off with an enigmatic, captivating performance.
For as stellar as Weaving and Gallner are as the Bonnie and Clyde of this story, the two share startlingly little chemistry. Much of the first half meanders without much narrative structure in its focus on developing the relationship between their characters Caroline and Oliver. The romance that quickly blossoms between the two never feels earned or realistic, thus rendering much of the romance in this romantic crime thriller rather dull and uninspired. Even as their cross-country joyride takes darker turns in the third act and effectively manages to move the audience, Caroline and Oliver’s romance is not what the film’s emotional effectiveness hinges on – it’s the individual performances from Weaving and Gallner that make Caroline and Oliver such likable and gripping protagonists.
Carolina Caroline proceeds forward from an unimpressive first half as it leans more heavily into the crime thriller angle of its story. While not breaking any new narrative or stylistic ground for the genre, the film cultivates solid tension as it chronicles Caroline and Oliver’s crime spree, an adventure that, at first, proves exciting to observe and yet later makes for nail-biting viewing. A particularly pulse-pounding sequence in the second half is excellently framed and paced by Rehmeier and has a palpable energy that starkly contrasts the film’s earlier listlessness.
At one point in the film’s increasingly suspenseful second half, Samara Weaving poses the question to Kyle Gallner, “How do you know if we’re good people pretending to be bad? Or bad ones pretending to be good?” The film poses questions regarding the moral standings of its characters like this but is ultimately unwilling to answer them with any depth or substance. Instead, Rehmeier gets so caught up in the tension of Caroline and Oliver’s crime spree and avoidance of law enforcement that potentially interesting inquiries about the morality of two characters who rob and hold people at gunpoint are left disappointingly unexplored.
In the film’s back half, Kyra Sedgwick pops up for a riveting and memorable cameo appearance. Sedgwick has played seedier, sadistic characters before, but arguably none are as repulsive as her character in Carolina Caroline. It’s a testament to Sedgwick’s acting prowess that she is able to leave such a lasting impression despite being relegated to a single scene in the film.
Although it converges on an ending that will prove predictable for anyone familiar with other outlaw romance movies, Caroline Caroline offers a few emotional gut-punches that reflect how much we grow to care for Caroline and Oliver over the course of the film. The fact that the two lack romantic chemistry does little to detract from our investment in their journeys, which increasingly encroach on tragedy as the runtime progresses. Both Weaving and Gallner nail the key emotional beats of this finale and showcase, in resounding fashion, why they are two of the industry’s most captivating performers.
VERDICT: 7/10
Caroline Caroline may not break new ground for the over-saturated outlaw romance genre, but it largely overcomes the over-familiarity of its narrative with an aesthetic soaked in retro and a duo of superb lead performances. Screening at this year’s Chicago Critics Film Festival, the new film from director Adam Carter Rehmeier evokes memories of films like Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, and Badlands as it tells a story that could just as easily be set in 2026 as it is in 1976. The grimy, less-than-picturesque depiction of the American South cements the film’s timeless quality and informs the motivation underlying Samara Weaving’s character’s desire to forge a new life. The Australian actress showcases that she has a real old school movie star quality about her, delivering a performance that effortlessly wins the audience over with her quirky facial expressions and endearing curiosity. The remarkably underappreciated Kyle Gallner, meanwhile, charms and similarly ensures audience investment, even as the screenplay fails to develop his character. Surprisingly, Weaving and Gallner share little chemistry, which means a first half that focuses primarily on their burgeoning romance meanders, rather than excites. This changes in a more pulse-pound second half, punctuated by a thrilling chase sequence and featuring a scene-stealing turn from Kyra Sedgwick. Although the film appears reluctant to examine the moral standings of its protagonists with much depth and converges on an ending that will be predictable for those familiar with the outlaw romance genre, Carolina Caroline excels with the emotional gut-punches that characterize its conclusion and round out an enjoyable, albeit familiar, romance crime thriller.