The Paperboy

Despite being marketed as a good ‘ole Southern thriller, there’s little to raise the pulse in Lee Daniels’ follow up to Precious. This is more of a drama akin to William Friedkin’s Killer Joe, though this is less of a noir than that was and despite some similarly unpleasant moments, has a touch of the absurd which raises some titters. The problem is whether you think the guffaws contained in Daniels’ film are intentional or not. Plot wise the film concerns reporter Ward Jensen (Matthew McConaughey) and his return to his hometown where, with the aid of a few others (including Zac Efron as his younger brother), he investigates the case of Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusak) and whether he can be exonerated of his supposed crime and removed from death row. Local suspicion and bureaucracy abound, though Jensen sees a way though the blockades by using Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman), a sex bomb who has initiated a relationship with Van Wetter via some old fashioned letter writing. There’s two ways to review this film really. On the one hand its clear Daniels has attempted to make something as lurid as possible and you can only say he’s succeeded on that front. However, that aside, the film still has to be a successful mixture of its constituent elements for it to be an enjoyable package. Though it scores on the visual and atmospheric front (it’s one of those films which is so sweaty, dirty and grimy you actually feel like you want to take a shower after watching it) it’s so full of horrible characters it’s hard to engage in the actual story as you don’t really care what happens to them. The acting is mainly good though with McConaughey (has he given up rom-coms for good? Hurrah!) continuing his recent run of morally ambiguous characters and Efron is believable as the cocky kid who falls hard for Charlotte. On that front it’s understandable why virtually every man in the film is betwixt ed by Kidman as she gives a cracking performance as the sultry and slutty Charlotte, using sex to get pretty much whatever she wants. At least she cancels out Cusack’s shockingly bad spaced out performance. So, quite a hard film to like, but good acting and some smart plot revelations at the end move this into the watch once (but once only) territory.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Worth catching for Kidman and some decent cinematography, though the slow pace and general tone of unpleasantness will be too much for some. Rating: 6/10.