Carousel (2026) (original) (raw)
Synopsis
A divorced doctor’s carefully constructed life in Cleveland is upended when his daughter’s debate aspirations and the unexpected return of a past love force him to confront his own choices and embrace a second chance.
Cast
Popular reviews
There's a big emotional setpiece here that really works — a kitchen counter fight that feels like it was transcribed from real life — even if some things on the edges don't come together. Chris Pine is so good, an underrated star who reminded me a little of Jack Lemmon in this. You almost wish he was a little less conventionally handsome so he'd be allowed to have a more interesting career. I hope he lets himself have that in middle age.
average cleveland cavaliers fan
I just wanted to be able to read the god damn text messages
As a big “Sometimes I Think About Dying” fan, I’m a little bit disappointed by this. When the film settles into a rhythm, particularly about how loss can inhibit love, it possesses a gentleness that I really gravitated toward. The problem is that it often breaks its own rhythm, turning toward minor subplots and half-sketched side characters that distract from the central relationship shared by Jenny Slate and Chris Pine (both are fantastic in this). Whereas Lambert’s first film so eloquently considered a lonely character with mental health issues, Pine’s daughter here feels so on the periphery that I struggled to tease out an arc that should have been more tangled. Even if we say that we’re seeing her through Pine’s limited eyes, it doesn’t wholly make up for her sporadic appearances. There’s a simpler more modest version of this film that could’ve existed and unfortunately doesn’t.
Chris Pine, the best Chris, is one of the few A list American actors who consistently works with female directors for the last ten years. God bless.
I liked the Pine/Slate stuff a lot, I just think the daughter's storyline needed another pass because that kid 100% needed therapy not a summer trip to Stanford. . .
Rachel Lambert’s follow-up to the absolutely exceptional Sometimes I Think About Dying is the highlight of my Sundance 2026 watches. Funny, grounded, and most of all, unwaveringly romantic, I was so totally swept up in what is constructed here. There’s a looser focus compared to her first feature and as a result some of the characters aren’t quite as refined—the daughter most of all—but if anything, that makes what does work so well here shine even brighter. Chris Pine and Jenny Slate are just radiant together, they seemingly convey a layered dynamic that really embodies the complex history their characters share with such ease.
the moral of carousel is that love is hard and ohio is real. real. i already kind of knew love was hard. love being hard is not news. we all know this. it is the first thing you learn when you are born. but ohio? i thought ohio was a myth. a story they told to scare children. but rachel lambert reminded me. ohio is real and it will find you wherever you are. i live in california. i thought i was safe. the pacific ocean between me and ohio. but ohio does not care about oceans. ohio came for me anyway. like a Trojan horse. disguised in a genuine, sweet, and honest film. you are not safe. open your…
the type of intimate, but slight, character drama for adults that I didn’t think was really being made any longer — very nicely shot on 35mm in 1.66
Parts of this movie worked extremely well for me, but some did not. I love the subtext, the long spaces between bits of dialogue, but those were also occasionally excruciating. Jenny Slate is awesome.
Chris Pine stars as Noah, a divorced doctor in Cleveland, Ohio, who is struggling to manage a failing medical practice and connect with his anxious teenage daughter, Maya. Noah's life is upended when his high school ex-girlfriend, Rebecca (Jenny Slate), returns to town from Washington D.C. to help her parents sell their family home.
Rebecca begins coaching the high school debate team, which Noah’s daughter Maya (Abby Ryder Fortson) has joined, leading to constant interaction between the former lovers. Tensions rise even further as Maya's anxiety creates a wedge in the relationship.
Chris Pine is thoughtfully respective in this quiet drama. It can be a little too quiet for my taste, but I can't fault the acting. Jenny Slate is…
I couldn’t get past Jenny Slate’s horrendous haircut
Sundance Online Film #2
Carousel leans hard into ambiguity — maybe a little too hard. I usually love films that withhold information, but I spent most of this movie genuinely unsure who was related to who, and while that’s technically irrelevant to the plot, it did pull me out more than once.
I can see why this one is divisive. The dialogue is heavy and often feels more theoretical than natural, and it plays like a film that’s missing a few connective scenes that might’ve helped ground everything. There’s something compelling here, but it asks a lot of patience — and not everyone is going to want to give it.