Carolina Caroline

Carolina Caroline, 2026, 3 ½ stars

Queen of the road

Weaving reigns in Rehmeier thriller-drama

Exclusive to MeierMovies, April 11, 2026

Like James Taylor, Caroline Daniels, the title character in director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s new romantic crime thriller-drama, is going to Carolina in her mind.

Specifically, she’s going to South Carolina to track down long-lost family. But unlike Taylor, Caroline is also making the physical journey.

She’s headed there from rural Texas but until recently hadn’t given the journey much realistic thought. It seemed out of reach for a 20-something living with her father and working unfulfilling chores at a filling station. But like Clyde to her Bonnie, in drives Oliver, to give her life a twist. Fill ‘er up, please.

Oliver is smart, handsome, a few years older and wiser than her – and no good. But she doesn’t realize it immediately, thanks to their instant attraction and his mastery of the small con. (There’s some of The Sting in the film’s early scenes.)

These small-time swindles scratch Caroline where she itches while also padding her pocketbook. And she and Oliver are soon besmitten while besmirching their souls with lives of crime – all while making their way to the Palmetto State.

Rehmeier (Dinner in America, Snack Shack) is adept at mixing genres, and Carolina Caroline is a nice blend. Carefully balancing tones and moods, it transitions from near-comedy (similar to Sugarland Express), to road movie, to romance, to crime thriller and ultimately to drama. And it’s buoyed by Kyle Gallner’s competent performance as Oliver, not to mention a break-your-heart cameo by a famous actress later in the movie.

But the film’s revelation is Australian actress Samara Weaving as Caroline. She’s 34 but could pass for 20. In this respect, she seems tossed out of time, as does the entire film, which has a 1970s feel, down to the cars, lack of cell phones and memorable though slightly overused music – without actually being set in the Me Decade. Somehow this new film is instantly recognizable, rinsed in retro.

Similarly, Weaving herself has been around a while, perhaps best known to mainstream audiences as Penelope in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. But, strangely, the cinematic thunderbolt, à la Michael Corleone, had not struck this critic until now. Cue Elise McKenna.

With her long blonde hair, big blue eyes, rabbit teeth that besottingly bite her lower lip and other things I shouldn’t mention in a serious film review, Weaving lives up to her last name. Regarding spells, that is. In this respect, the film is almost as much And God Created Woman as it is the movies that Rehmeier says he intended, such as Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, and Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.

There’s certainly enough homage in this film to go around, and around again. It never loses its charm, but it can feel derivative. And though Tom Dean’s script hits that aforementioned emotional peak near the end, I never could shake the feeling I’d seen something similar to all this before.

But I’d never seen Weaving, at least not like this. Yes, she resembles Margot Robbie (and Britt Ekland), but not so much in this role. In fact, she might not even resemble herself in this one, and not just because of her excellent dialect work. Rehmeier said as much in the Q&A session following the movie’s opening-night screening at the Florida Film Festival. Sometimes the right part comes along for the right person, at the right time.

Lastly, credit is due cinematographer Jean-Philippe Bernier’s camera, which loves the ‘70s look, and adores Weaving. As do I. As you will too.

 

Interview

I interviewed Rehmeier prior to the screening of his film on opening night of the Florida Film Festival.

“I really love the chemistry between Kyle [Gallner] and Samara [Weaving] in this movie,” Rehmeier told me. “And I think this movie is about sensations and about the sensations of falling in love. And I think the audience is in for a really good ride with regards to kind of a traditional romantic story.

“The movie plays kind of like a ’70s type of road movie. So it’s kind of a throwback but set in an early-aughts backdrop. So it’s a little bit retro. You know, there’s no cell phones or things like that. It plays in kind of a timeless, cool way. But I think that most people, when they see the film, they will really fall in love with the idea of falling in love with Kyle and Sam. So that part’s really nice.”

I guess I wasn’t the only one who fell in love with Weaving. Indeed, the entire film festival seems to have fallen for her, as she’s not just the star of the opening-night film but also the centerpiece movie, Over Your Dead Body. And if you squint just right, you might even think it’s her on the 2026 festival poster.

As usual, festival newbies are also falling in love with Enzian itself.

“I’ve never been [to the Enzian]. I’m very, very excited,” said Rehmeier. “I like the Spanish moss outside. … These trees are great, … very atmospheric.”

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If you missed the movie at The Florida Film Festival (and the Miami and Sarasota film festivals, where it’s also showing), don’t worry, as Magnolia Pictures is giving it a general release on June 5.