The Reel Review
Caroline’s dull life in West Texas changes dramatically after she meets Oliver, a young con man passing through her sleepy small town. Minor confidence scams quickly evolve into full-on bank robberies as they drive to South Carolina to meet Caroline’s estranged mother. Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner star in this romantic crime thriller.
While this more modernized version of the 1967 classic Bonnie & Clyde lacks the punch of that iconic film and has been way better done in other recent films (2019’s Queen & Slim, 2016’s Hell or High Water) solid performances from its leading duo elevate the otherwise predictable, average screenplay. Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) is infuriatingly good in a pivotal, jaw-dropping single scene as Caroline’s mother who had abandoned her as an infant.
The film’s second half definitely picks up after a very sluggish first 45 minutes that has sweet, bored Caroline quickly and inexplicably devolving into a hardened criminal. That said, Carolina Caroline is entertaining enough, especially for fans of Weaving (Ready or Not), Gallner (Strange Darling) or Sedgwick.
REEL FACTS
• Adam Rehmeier (Snack Shack) also directed Kyle Gallner in 2020’s Dinner in America.
• Kyra Sedgwick filmed her seen in one day.
• Although set in multiple locations, Carolina Caroline was filmed in and around Louisville, Kentucky.
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