CAROLINA CAROLINE Review: Crime Doesn’t Pay, Or Love
Adam Carter Remeiher’s new crime thriller, Carolina Caroline, takes a heavy toll as it charts a violent cross country outlaw love story that ends about as ominous as it begins. The first few minutes lend a bit of insight in that regard before setting off its story three months earlier, featuring Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner as the leads.
Set against the backdrop of rural America, we meet small town Texas gal Caroline (Weaving) who finds herself drawn to a charismatic conman named Oliver (Gallner) after he cash-cons the owner of the gas station where she works. The romance is a steady brew at first, having caught onto his angle and becoming fascinated with his scheme, as well as her own potential.
Sparks fly and love blooms as Caroline leaves home with her father’s blessing and in Oliver’s car, commencing a whirlwind journey around the Southern belt as they escalate from conning small stores, chain outlets and malls out of sizeable bills to flat out armed bank robbery. However, between bank hits, hotel and road house stints, Carolina’s escapade with Oliver proves to be less fruitful than the cash bags in their trunk would elicit, as the law slowly starts creeping up wherever the road takes them.
At that point, the trip becomes less about the money and youthful romance, and more about whether or not the happy ending the two lovebirds seek gets increasingly further out of reach. This comes as the weight of Carolina’s own conscience starts surfacing amid beleaguring introspection and a troubling family revelation, topped off with the billowing repercussions of their crimes, and a violent, impulsive act that all but seals their fate.
By the final fifteen minutes, Carolina Caroline sits as a glaring reminder of the obvious to our titular character, despite any lingering doubt and any dimming chance there was to either get out clear or come back. It’s almost darkly comedic in a way, with a feasible script that gets amplified firmly by Weaving’s and Gallner’s performances, as well as that of co-stars Jon Gries and Kyra Sedgwick for their few minutes of screentime.
Thematic elements pertinent to human psychology serve as ornamental to Oliver’s development midway into the film as the two acquaint themselves with and explore each other, escalating Carolina Caroline from piquant fledgling romance to portentous gut punch. The remainder of the film places its focus more prominently on Carolina’s often recalcitrance to her own increasing self-awareness. Needless to say, opting to escape and flee the country with her lover-in-crime doesn’t exactly pan out the way she hopes.
Remeiher’s Carolina Caroline presents an intriguing crime tale of one woman’s search for her own truth. It’s a brutal romantic crime thriller about how we measure ourselves amid the choices we make in certain situations whether or not we trigger them, one that studies what it really means to be in control.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
