‘Ride Or Die’ Review – A New Vision Of Love On The Run [Tribeca 2025]

There are countless stories about romances on the run, ruined (and enhanced) by crime and violence. Whether you prefer Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands, True Romance, Queen & Slim, or Thelma & Louise (the subtext is everything), the history is certainly there. Two young lovers with nothing to lose get thrown into difficult situations that turn ugly. There is a reason that this is a repeated theme in film. In what other situation would we throw caution to the wind and take these kinds of chances? All love can be a kind of madness. But young love? Young love will lead us down the strangest paths imaginable.

In Josalynn Smith’s debut as a full-length feature director, Ride or Die, she examines this through a very different lens. This is an upfront queer story, no subtext required. Paula (Briana Middleton) is stuck in her hometown, but harbors dreams of directing films in Hollywood. As the film opens, she takes a purchase to the cash register at a clothing store and sees Sloane (Stella Everett), who we later learn was her high school crush. Even this early in the film, the story hinges on this initial interaction. If we don’t feel them together, nothing else will matter.

But the chemistry between Paula and Sloane is absolutely electric. Sly touches, smirks, and elongated eye contact do the trick within moments. Even if we didn’t find out anything else about the pair, we know that the kinetic attraction between them is undoubtedly mutual. The script, from Smith and Alicia Louzoun-Heisler, shines throughout, but especially here. This flirtation leads to a mild bit of law-breaking in the form of Sloane giving Paula her purchase for free. Given the evocative title, we certainly know that this will not be the last law broken, but it shows what we are willing to accept or let slide when someone beautiful offers it to us.

But Smith does not simply allow Sloane to be only a pretty face. Despite being the object of Paula’s desire, she is shown to have an actual history, reasons for the way she is, and an understandable connection with Paula. Middleton is unquestionably the lead, but both characters have their moments to shine. The scriptwriters also make the smart decision to only give us one familial background story. We get to see just a bit of Paula’s difficult relationship with her mother. We only get hints about Sloane, but it is enough. 

And given that this is a lesbian love story, and one set in the middle of the country, Smith had many choices about how to represent the challenges that the couple would face on the road and within their families. Repeatedly, she chooses subtlety over intensity to the film’s advantage. It would have been easy for them to find violence and screaming at every turn, but the consistent quiet judgment they face is even more powerful. Being two women in an unforgiving world is hard enough, adding the intersectionality of being queer, and in Paula’s case, Black and not passing as straight, focuses the narrative on a particular struggle that remains mostly untold.

The violence they both face and enact throughout the film is both surprising and expected. When you title a movie Ride or Die, we know that at least one in the partnership will become violent, and the other must make a decision to stay with them or run away. But who enacts it and how these things actually occur left me gasping on more than one occasion. But luckily, the film is not simply violent for violence’s sake. It also spends time building this relationship and showing us their journey, both emotionally and visually.

Cinematographer Arlene Muller never misses a moment, and she has many challenges. Shooting black skin and white skin creates different obstacles, and this is exponentially true when an interracial couple is at the center of the story. She manages this both in light and shadow, creating softness when times are better and harshness when things begin to go awry. When the two are together sexually, Muller and Smith never shy away from either the explicit physicality or the difficulties of sexual relationships. As the two travel across the country towards the west coast, time is taken to represent this with numerous vistas, but it never feels overly extended or unnecessary. There are two shots, one with the two in sunlight and one that takes place in glistening water that will easily stick with viewers long after the credits roll.

It does not matter if you have seen stories about criminal lovers on the run before. You have absolutely not seen it like this. Josalynn Smith introduces us to a brand new version, centering people who usually are not, and she opens brand new doors. Her version, along with a beautiful, aware, open performance from Briana Middleton and stunning visuals, makes Ride or Die worth the trip and then some.

Ride Or Die held its World Premiere as a part of the U.S. Narrative Competition section of the 2025 Tribeca Festival.

Director: Josalynn Smith

Screenwriters: Josalynn Smith, Alicia Louzoun-Heisler

Rated: NR

Runtime: 85m