Chris Pine and Jenny Slate are excellent in this grown-up romance

PLOT: A divorced doctor, Noah (Chris Pine), living in Ohio, has his world upended when a former flame, Rebecca (Jenny Slate), returns to town and starts teaching his troubled teenage daughter (Abby Ryder Fortson).

REVIEW: Carousel marks a quiet but pleasing way to kick off the 2026 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. In many ways, it harkens back to the kind of low-key indie dramas about people so cherished by the fest’s founder, Robert Redford. In Rachel Lambert’s film, Chris Pine (in his first role in two years) plays the kind of role Redford himself would have been a natural in, with him a caring, small-town doctor who’s also a devoted dad, albeit one having a hard time giving his daughter the freedom she seeks. He’s also willingly blind to the way the world is changing around him, with his clinic on the verge of bankruptcy, while his daughter is now prone to bursts of rage and self-harm in the wake of his contentious divorce.

Yet, more than a character study about a man coming to terms with a world that’s changing, Carousel is instead quite a touching romance, with it depicting how Pine’s Noah reconnects with his first love, Rebecca, with the latter having temporarily moved back home after spending years as a speechwriter and lobbyist in Washington, D.C., taking a job as a schoolteacher.

It’s through the new job that she and Noah reconnect, with her starting a debate society that Noah’s daughter (played by Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret star Abby Ryder Fortson) begins to thrive in. When we see Hollywood romance these days, it’s usually between two actors in their twenties (or at least playing in their twenties), so it’s nice to see a grown-up version where both characters are in their forties and have been around the block a few times. The romance feels authentic in its imperfections, with it not a given that either Rebecca will give up her life in Washington to stay with Noah, or whether he will let her truly become a part of his family if there’s the potential she could leave.

Slate and Pine have excellent chemistry, with both playing likable and believably flawed characters. Neither is idealized: Noah is often sanctimonious, while Rebecca is prone to constant little white lies to keep her boundaries up. It’s the kind of romance where not only do you not know if the characters will wind up together, but for a lot of it you’re not even sure they should.

The supporting cast is strong, with Fortson delivering a good performance as Pine’s anything-but-precocious daughter, who’s smart but self-destructive. Katey Sagal also shows up as Noah’s mom, while vets Jessica Harper (Suspiria!) and Jeffrey DeMunn play Rebecca’s folks. Best of all, though, is the great Sam Waterston as Noah’s partner in his clinic, who’s starting to feel his age and wants to move on, despite their deep friendship and surrogate family bond.

While Carousel might be a little too quiet and deliberately paced to walk away with a huge Sundance deal, Pine and Slate are at their best, and I found myself wrapped up in their burgeoning romance. Heck, it’s just nice to see a movie about two grown-ups falling in love in a realistic way.