If you’ve never heard of Adam Rehmeier, you’re doing yourself a great disservice. The indie gem Dinner in America (2020) is a completely underrated, under-the-radar gem that deserves to be seen by all audiences. Rehmeier’s newest, Carolina Caroline, has him teaming up again with Kyle Gallner (Dinner in America) and second-time screenwriter Tom Dean (who also co-wrote the TIFF 50 title Charlie Harper) to bring a modern Bonnie and Clyde-esque story to the forefront with some of the hottest chemistry recorded on screen — it could melt the polar ice caps. So sit back and enjoy the wild electric ride that is Carolina Caroline.
Caroline (Samara Weaving) and Oliver (Kyle Gallner) first meet in a Texas gas station where she works and Oliver is pulling off a slight-of-hand scheme. She is instantly charmed by his presence and realizes he is living a life she wants to partake in, despite it being something much more nefarious than her current situation. There is something desirable about being able to charm people into your command, and being taken under that spell isn’t something new or strange, but there is a lot more going on throughout the film that further expands past just “relatively good girl meets bad boy and choses to go bad.” Caroline had a rough upbringing and, amid all this whirlwind chaotic romance, she also wants to find her mother to find out why she chose to abandon Caroline when she was younger. While a side step to the story, it’s one that adds to Caroline’s character and provides reasoning behind why she finds Oliver so attractive in so many ways. Granted, while the main story is essentially a modern take on Bonnie and Clyde and the ending predicament is one that is inevitable, the journey is no less enjoyable.
L-R: Kyle Gallner and Samara Weaving in CAROLINA CAROLINE. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
What works with Rehmeier’s direction and Dean’s script is the way they always let the audience be on the in. There are no real surprises or turns here, but that is okay as the audience constantly knows what movie they’re in for and doesn’t want to mitigate away from the story they’re destined to tell. At the core of the quarreling lovers’ journey for self-freedom at any cost has to be believability between actors and the characters they’re representing. What Weaving (Ready or Not; Bill & Ted Face the Music) and Gallner manage to exude in their roles is nothing shy of piping hot steam that would shatter thermometers. Individually, they both have proven time and time again that they have the proverbial sauce and can exude confidence in their respective roles, put placing them together on screen in a whirlwind romance brings something new to both of their resumes as this is the strongest on-screen connection they’ve respectfully had. Weaving and Gallner feel like they were destined to be together.
While Tom Dean is clearly making his own take on the beloved story of Bonnie and Clyde, it is Rehmeier’s direction and Gallner and Weaving’s chemistry that elevate an otherwise basic, paint-by-numbers story into something so much greater than that. It then reaches the level of a surefire hit thanks to chemistry between the leads and the non-stop action right out of the gate of the movie. Time is never wasted within the story, a beat is never missed, everything has a purpose, and when the screen isn’t sweltering, the anxiety and tension is simply palatable.
Screening during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival Carolina Caroline webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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