The Bonnie and Clyde story has been repurposed countless times for the big screen, so much so that it’s hard to even put a new spin on it. Though many have tried, the results are often mixed: for every Thelma & Louise, there’s something like Netflix’s The Highway Men. It’s fitting then that Carolina Caroline, the latest feature from director Adam Carter Rehmeier, doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel.
Instead, he infuses his take with deep-rooted Americana, a killer soundtrack, and two performances that ooze with chemistry. Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner star as star-crossed lovers Caroline and Oliver, the latter of whom is an established conman pᴀssing through a Texas town when Weaving’s blonde bombshell gas station attendant clocks his scheming.
Caroline is immediately drawn into Oliver’s world and, initially, they stick around her small town, falling madly in love over the course of a few weeks. Caroline deliberates whether she’s ready to leave behind her town and the single father (John Gries) who raised her and, eventually, they head on th
Carolina Caroline Is A Thrilling & Romantic Lovers-On-The-Run Story
What makes Carolina Caroline so magical is the way it transcends its clichés to tell an engrossing story. Even though we know where it’s going (for the most part), there’s something so compelling about what Rehmeier puts on the screen that makes Carolina Caroline work. Weaving and Gallner are absolutely stellar, with supporting turns from Gries and a late-appearing Kyra Sedgwick that add even more of an impact.
After breaking out in Ready or Not, Weaving has had her fair share of starring roles, but in this film, she really gets the chance to put her full range on display. Caroline becomes the de facto leader of her and Oliver’s criminal activities, her face splayed across television screens and wanted signs as they cruise through country backroads and nighttime highways.
Oliver is the seasoned pro here — he has his justifications for his crimes at the ready, especially as Caroline begins to question why they do what they do and who they’re doing it to. But first, he coaches Caroline through petty cons and pick-pocketing before she graduates to the big leagues of bank robbing.
Oliver is a character that could easily fall into caricature, but Gallner never lets him feel overtly evil or uncaring. His love for Caroline is felt, as is his love for the game of conning. Some of the dialogue in Tom Dean’s script feels stilted, as it doesn’t always avoid the genre trappings that Rehmeier’s direction does.
In the hands of lesser actors, some of the material could feel underbaked, but Weaving and Gallner are so committed that it’s easy to hang on to every word they say as they stare deeply into each other’s eyes or plot their next mark. Eventually, when Carolina Caroline leaves behind the romance for its thrilling conclusion, Rehmeier has built a solid foundation that leads to a heart-pounding, emotional, and wholly unexpected crescendo with a killer final line.
Dean’s script often gestures as to the ways this story is relevant to our times, even if the film itself feels like it takes place outside of time. But that’s the thing about Carolina Caroline — stories are told time and time again, but when they’re told this well and with this much pᴀssion, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve heard it.
Carolina Caroline premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
