Carolina Caroline (2026): Outlaw Lovers

By Len Weiler

Carolina Caroline  is new movie having its theatrical release this Friday. (June 5).  Billed as “The Sexiest Crime Thriller of the Year”, Carolina Caroline stars Samara Weaving  [Ready or Not (2019) and Ready or Not 2 (2026)] as Caroline, a young woman living in a rural Texas town, and Kyle Gallner [Veronica Mars series (2005-06), Dinner in America (2020)] as Oliver, a grifter whom Caroline happens to meet when he pops into a gas station market where she works as a stock clerk. She is intrigued when she sees him calmly swindle the store’s cashier out of $20, a brazen act that is both shocking and fascinating.  Moreover, he’s not from her neck of the woods, but just “passing through” which makes him a man of the world - very cool to a small-town girl like Caroline. And he might just be her ticket out of the sticks. She’s a good lucking kid with eyes for this stranger, and it’s no surprise that they quickly hook up.   

In truth, there’s little about Carolina Caroline that surprises us. The movie sits squarely and comfortably in the well-travelled but still popular cinematic tradition called  “Outlaw-Lovers-on-the-Run” (my preferred version) or alternately “Lovers-on-the-Lam”. The genre dates back at least to the 1930s, with such films as Fritz Lang’s You Only Live Once (1937) starring Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda; Gun Crazy (1950), a great noir flick with John Dall and Peggy Cummins; the arty Pierrot le Feu (1965) with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina; Bonnie and Clyde (1967) of course, with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway; Badlands (1973) with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek; Queen and Slim (2019), starring Daniel Kaluuwa and Jodie Turner Smith; and many more. 

Its predictability is not a bad thing, but rather a comfortable one. What matters in lovers-on-the-run movies is (a) the chemistry  between the lovers and (b) the little details and quirks that give us a feel for the milieu: the time and place maybe, the local characters, and such-like. Taking Bonnie and Clyde as an example, the chemistry between its big-name co-stars was palpable and unforgettable; but remembered just as well or even more are some of the supporting performances  from  Estelle Parsons, Gene Hackman and especially Michael J Pollard; and we also recall, despite the passage of a lot of years, the old time cars, the 1930s outfits, and the largely rural locations of the film.  

In these respects, Carolina Caroline  gets a mixed score. It’s hard to place with any clarity just when the story is taking place. The screenplay never says, and the visual clues are indistinct. It’s for sure before mobile phones became commonplace, which is a good choice for this kind of story. Most of the vehicles we see seem to be from the mid to late1970s, so I’m guessing it’s the early 1980s. Other than the two lovers, the other characters don’t really register. Even Caroline’s dad (played by Jon Gries), who raised her as a single parent for most of her life, gets short shrift.  On the other hand, the relationship between Caroline and Oliver is certainly hot. For my taste, too much screen time is devoted to their passionate sex life, and not enough to the development of a more expansive love relationship – although we do see some of that, especially through the wistful, loving look in the eyes of the besotted Oliver whenever he’s looking at Caroline. Credit this to a lovely, laid-back performance by Gallner, who reminds me of Pedro Pascal in a lot of ways. 

Samara Weaving’s Caroline is a more difficult proposition.  She’s quite attractive, which normally would not be a complaint, but in this movie it’s a distraction. Her beauty is so distinctly unlike any other characters – or even any background women - in the story. Her sexuality is accentuated by an ever-changing wardrobe of new, sultry outfits – which are more 21st century than mid to late 20th – and particularly unrealistic for someone as indigent and  relatively sheltered as Caroline is at the start of the picture. When Oliver asks Caroline for her dream destination if she could go anywhere, she says South Carolina.[!] Turns out her mother, Deborah, lives there. Caroline can’t even recall what her mother looks like, but that’s the dream. We (and she) eventually do meet Deborah, played by Kyra Sedgwick [The Closer (2005-2012)], in a brief scene well into the film. Sedgwick, to her credit, is able to sketch this vulgar, dissipated barfly in just a few dramatic moments as a person not in the least worthy of Caroline’s  attention. 

What’s weird about the casting of Weaving is that she’s a 34-year-old playing a young, naive character (somewhere between 18 and 22, I'd guess). She actually pulls that off; but for most of the film, I did not find her character very interesting or endearing.  By the predictable ending, Caroline has wised up somewhat and Weaving handles that piece pretty well.

Notwithstanding my criticisms, Carolina Caroline is an entertaining, fun film to watch. It moves along pretty well. The protagonists are both easy on the eyes. Oh, and there’s a nice country music soundtrack.  There’s even a little surprise at the end, so it’s not a totally gloomy downer. Just don’t expect a lot of realism or high drama.

1hour 45 minutes   
Grade: B
Opens in theaters Friday June 5, 2026