Carousel is a movie out of time. Working with Chris Pine and Jenny Slate, writer-director Rachel Lambert has constructed a delicate, patient, slice-of-life picture recalling Murphy’s Romance or Starting Over. That this even got made feels special. Pine plays Noah, a local doctor dealing with a fresh divorce. When his high school ex-girlfriend Rebecca (Jenny Slate) comes back to town, things get complicated. Rebecca begins coaching the high school debate team, of which Noah’s teenage daughter Maya (Abby Ryder Fortson) is a part. As Maya falls in love with debate and begins to deal with some intense emotions stemming from her parents’ separation, Noah and Rebecca fall back in love with each other.
This is a quiet, sad, lovely little film with wonderful, small character moments, like Noah listening to his own heartbeat with his stethoscope in between appointments, or Rebecca immediately putting her hands to her hairline mid-argument, as if to protect herself from the fight she’s having. The great Sam Waterston puts in superb work as Noah’s colleague and mentor, who surprises Noah by announcing his retirement from medicine early on. Abby Ryder Fortson is notable here, building off her superb lead performance in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Jessica Harper and Jeffrey DeMunn also excel as Rebecca’s parents. Sadly, Katey Sagal and Heléne Yorke are a bit neglected in small roles.
Composer Dabney Morris provides a longing, effective score, and there is a particularly well-placed Chet Baker needle drop in the second act. Pine and Slate have a good, comfortable chemistry that comes in handy given the emotional terrain their relationship needs to trek. Lambert often leaves the camera in one place, forcing her actors to provide the action. Pine and Slate are thankfully up to the challenge. There are lulls that sap energy from the larger pace, along with a couple of B-plots that are introduced and never resolved. Specifically, there is a worry about the financial stability of Noah’s medical practice that comes and goes without much understanding of its severity and potential consequences.
Lambert does a smart thing throughout: she keeps it quiet. While there is the score and the soundtrack, sound design is minimal and smart. This is a modest town with modest people, and the silence matches their modesty. Pine is a superb performer and best when he’s doing very little; there’s a naturalism to his presence that feels accidental. While some plot devices in Carousel are derivative—the motivations of the mother, played by the great Dagmara Dominczyk, feel designed and undercooked—Lambert, Pine, and Slate find a truth that resonates. I’ve had those arguments. I’ve had those awkward nights at the bar. Carousel comes from a place of old-fashioned earnestness.
Carousel premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.