Directed by Adam Rehmeier and written by Tom Dean, a young woman, desperate to leave her small town, runs away with a charming con man, embarking on a crime and passion-filled journey through the Southeast to find her estranged mother. Starring: Samara Weaving, Kyle Gallner, Kyra Sedgwick, Jon Gries, Tommy G. Kendrick, P.J. Sosko, Gregg Gilmore and Jamald Gardner.
Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner were built for this film, not only is it perfect casting but all of the roles they’ve had in the past feed beautifully into these characters. All of the reasons that fans love Weaving and Gallner come together in Carolina Caroline and allow them to build not just fantastic chemistry but arguably one of the best films of 2026. Forget Bonnie and Clyde, that’s far too basic of a comparison when what Adam Rehmeier is somewhere between Baby Driver and Hell or High Water, with a touch of the intensely underrated Buffaloed.
At times the excellent, sharp yet grounded cinematography from Jean-Philippe Bernier even sends us into Bad Times at the El Royale territory. The tone is terrific, it captures that classic doomed romance, wanting so much so fast can never end well, and we all know that, but it doesn’t make the journey any less captivating. The way that Carolina Caroline holds your attention is absolutely effortless. It’s paced brilliantly, and the writing is strong, funny and surprisingly moving.
Putting Weaving and Gallner to one side for a moment, as there’s no doubt that they’re the stars of this show and phenomenal at it but coming in at a close second is Kyra Sedgwick. The relatively brief scene that Sedgwick shares with Weaving is incredible, it’s raw and broken, and unexpectedly sincere for this sort of crime-driven romance. The casting on the whole is top notch, because Jon Gries was another humble, touching addition.
The two of them provide such different personalities which perfectly help to emotionally drive Carolina Caroline where it needs to go. Watching Weaving and Gallner take this felonious road trip is extremely entertaining, not only do the two of them have impeccable chemistry, they’re also just a lot of fun. They embrace that heist edge, and they actually make the love at first sight idea believable, as well as just having an undeniable connection.
Rehmeier then takes that further by crafting the ideal environment for them. The tone is old-school entertainment, it doesn’t push too hard on the thriller side of things or the violence. It has a great self-awareness, and it can be a little purposefully cheesy at times to hit those nostalgia buttons, for films like Smokey and the Bandit. It’s also well edited by Justin Krohn to really boost the speed and grip of Carolina Caroline.
Adam Rehmeier, Tom Dean put together an entertaining, fun, romantic, gripping outing with Carolina Caroline. Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner are a perfect pair, watching their doomed romance rush into unknown lands (and banks) unknown is a joy. It’s extremely well put together, and has a good eye for detail, particular credit should go to whomever crafted Weaving’s early look in the film because they knocked it out of the part to make her look like the naïve, small town young woman. It nicely intensifies as time goes on, but it’s also cute and cheesy, it reminds of the time in cinema when Patrick Swayze was at his peak, all about the entertainment. It’s a great time.
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