Carolina Caroline- 2026 Chicago Critics Film Festival
May 1st, 2026
MOVIE: CAROLINA CAROLINE– 2026 CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL
STARRING: SAMARA WEAVING, KYLE GALLNER, KYRA SEDGWICK
DIRECTED BY: ADAM REHMEIER
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 105 MINUTES
When Bonnie and Clyde was made, Arthur Penn had two of the hottest actors in Hollywood portraying the leads: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Even today, their chemistry and swagger remain so electric that few on-screen couples have matched their sex appeal. The newest “lovers on the run” heist drama, Carolina Caroline, gets the casting exactly right, pairing Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner as two robbers on the run in a steamy, adrenaline-fueled adventure about con artists desperate to stay ahead of the law. Carolina Caroline follows two misguided twenty-somethings through a road trip filled with unpredictable, pulse-racing excitement- exactly the kind of movie star vehicle Hollywood doesn’t make often enough anymore.
The “meet cute” takes place at a gas station, where the mysterious Oliver (Gallner) walks into a convenience store and attempts a sleight-of-hand scam with the cashier. Caroline (Weaving), however, is too sharp to fall for it and immediately calls him out. Instead of demanding the money back, she becomes fascinated by Oliver’s tricks and asks him to teach her the art of swindling. As their romance blossoms, Caroline pushes the excitement even further, and soon the pair are bouncing from small town to small town, pulling quick-hit bank robberies with reckless abandon.
Written by Tom Dean and directed by Adam Rehmeier, Carolina Caroline is, in many ways, a small film- one that might have benefited from a broader scope. Still, what makes the near two-hander work is its intimacy. The chemistry between Gallner and Weaving is magnetic as they drift through montages of lovemaking, shooting bottles off fences, and stealing cash for the thrill of it. The supporting cast is sparse but effective. Jon Gries plays Caroline’s invalid father, a man who deeply loves his daughter and tries to shield her from the darker corners of the world. Later, Kyra Sedgwick arrives as Caroline’s absent mother, delivering a brief but powerful performance that signals the inevitable collapse waiting at the end of this wild romance.
As far as heist films go, Carolina Caroline embraces many of the genre’s most compelling traits: the initial rush of stolen money, the recklessness of young love, and the looming downfall brought on by greed. The film often recalls Badlands and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints in its romanticized portrait of outlaws on the run. While the screenplay occasionally lacks enough narrative substance to fully sustain itself, the emotional weight is carried by two richly flawed characters. Caroline dreams of escaping to South Carolina, while Oliver seems motivated purely by impulse and self-interest. Like The Getaway, the tension comes from wondering whether love can survive between two criminals living on borrowed time. Rehmeier understands this well and keeps the camera tightly focused on Weaving and Gallner, whose connection gives the film its heartbeat.
Carolina Caroline is very much my kind of movie: a slick, sexy heist drama about people with good hearts and terrible instincts. There is something deeply American about stories like this- small-town dreamers committing bad acts in the name of passion, freedom, and desperation. More than anything, though, the film works as another showcase for Weaving and Gallner, two of the most intoxicating screen presences working today. Together, they make crime look dangerously romantic.
3 STARS
CAROLINA CAROLINE PLAYED AS PART OF THE 2026 CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL AND WILL PREMIERE AT A LATER DATE IN 2026.
Written by: Leo Brady
