Carolina Caroline — Review

Adam Carter Rehmeier’s Carolina Caroline plays like the country companion piece to his punk rock Dinner in America (2020). Like that film, Kyle Gallner once again stars as a troublemaker on the run. However, Carolina Caroline feels like a more mature entry in Rehmeier’s filmography, which is fitting, since one key difference is that this isn’t a coming-of-age story or a comedy like his last two films. This romantic crime thriller is a stylish tale of young lovers on the run that draws easy comparisons to Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Terrence Malick’s Badlands (1973). While it doesn’t reinvent the genre, the chemistry and commitment of its leads elevate the material, breathing new life into a classic formula. I’m not typically one to resort to superlatives in my reviews, but Carolina Caroline might just be the sexiest movie of the year.