The Paperboy
B-
'The Paperboy' (directed by Lee Daniels, Precious) is a sexually/racially charged 1960s mystery that is drenched in the Southern Gothic milieu. The narrative structure features a voiceover of the 'testimony' given by a witness to events (the family housekeeper, well-played by Macy Gray). The 1st event of the film is a black-&-white flashback to the murder of an unpopular, racist sheriff & the possibly wrongful conviction of white trash suspect, Hillary Van Wetter (a slimy John Cusack) as the murderer. Hillary is on death row when 2 Miami journalists arrive in the steamy backwater Florida town hoping to uncover civil rights abuses as a career-making story. They are Ward Jensen (Matthew McConaughey) & ambitious Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo), a black man {think of the time & place}.
With the aid of Ward's unambitious younger brother Jack (Zac Efron) & the Barbied-up, perpetually horny death row groupie, Charlotte (Nicole Kidman), the duo tries to prove that slime ball Hillary was framed for the murder of that sheriff. Charlotte has a 'thing' for dangerous men & has willed herself into believing that she loves this man on death row. As Ward & Yardley dig into the case {so boring}, they discover a hot trail of misdirection. Evil surfaces in the Florida swamplands. And coinciding to the case, young Jack falls in love with Charlotte -- which may become a fatal mistake.
Some of the performances are wonderfully over-the-top. The story is fairly bonkers. Look out for LOTS of flesh (Efron in wet undies, Kidman in ripped undies, & especially McConaughey in one horrifying sequence). But in some ways, the film is almost too grim/unsettling. And the central mystery (involving an early murder) is SO boring that it threatens the fun of the bonkers moments. My eye never wavered from the movie (like watching a train wreck unfold); the voyeuristic quotient of this film is very high. But the many colliding elements of the script prevent the movie from gelling in a way that makes you know you've seen something great.
The main reason to see the movie is for the performances, not the shoddily-told story. Kidman is mesmerizing, exhibiting a sexuality that I haven't seen from her since Eyes Wide Shut. Her Charlotte is a creature of unfiltered desires. And yet, underneath her whorish facade, there's something sweet & vulnerable about her. Whether she's simulating sex to Cusack's character in a jail, peeing on Zac Efron to help jellyfish stings, or petrified at the sight of a particular man entering her house, Kidman makes you believe in Charlotte. Playing opposite her is John Cusack in the role of a vile monster; I like that the normally affable Cusack went for an atypical role, for once. Efron's character is around to provide a normal, likable nonentity amid a host of depraved & damaged individuals.
'The Paperboy' oozes atmosphere; making the swampy Florida town a supporting character, itself. This is important because, to me, atmosphere can take any movie (not just of this genre) a long way. The script, based on a novel, touches on an assortment of thematic issues, including the culture of racism & corruption in the South during the time. But as I mentioned above, the murder mystery is so tepid & dull that all you want {and can do, really} is to focus on character quirks & character interaction. I saw the murder plot as a distraction to the rest of the film; oddly enough. In the end, I recommend the film for some surprising & lurid revelations; though, there's a feeling of incompleteness to the movie - not because of the WAY it ends but because of how various lurid subplots are executed.
With the aid of Ward's unambitious younger brother Jack (Zac Efron) & the Barbied-up, perpetually horny death row groupie, Charlotte (Nicole Kidman), the duo tries to prove that slime ball Hillary was framed for the murder of that sheriff. Charlotte has a 'thing' for dangerous men & has willed herself into believing that she loves this man on death row. As Ward & Yardley dig into the case {so boring}, they discover a hot trail of misdirection. Evil surfaces in the Florida swamplands. And coinciding to the case, young Jack falls in love with Charlotte -- which may become a fatal mistake.
Some of the performances are wonderfully over-the-top. The story is fairly bonkers. Look out for LOTS of flesh (Efron in wet undies, Kidman in ripped undies, & especially McConaughey in one horrifying sequence). But in some ways, the film is almost too grim/unsettling. And the central mystery (involving an early murder) is SO boring that it threatens the fun of the bonkers moments. My eye never wavered from the movie (like watching a train wreck unfold); the voyeuristic quotient of this film is very high. But the many colliding elements of the script prevent the movie from gelling in a way that makes you know you've seen something great.
The main reason to see the movie is for the performances, not the shoddily-told story. Kidman is mesmerizing, exhibiting a sexuality that I haven't seen from her since Eyes Wide Shut. Her Charlotte is a creature of unfiltered desires. And yet, underneath her whorish facade, there's something sweet & vulnerable about her. Whether she's simulating sex to Cusack's character in a jail, peeing on Zac Efron to help jellyfish stings, or petrified at the sight of a particular man entering her house, Kidman makes you believe in Charlotte. Playing opposite her is John Cusack in the role of a vile monster; I like that the normally affable Cusack went for an atypical role, for once. Efron's character is around to provide a normal, likable nonentity amid a host of depraved & damaged individuals.
'The Paperboy' oozes atmosphere; making the swampy Florida town a supporting character, itself. This is important because, to me, atmosphere can take any movie (not just of this genre) a long way. The script, based on a novel, touches on an assortment of thematic issues, including the culture of racism & corruption in the South during the time. But as I mentioned above, the murder mystery is so tepid & dull that all you want {and can do, really} is to focus on character quirks & character interaction. I saw the murder plot as a distraction to the rest of the film; oddly enough. In the end, I recommend the film for some surprising & lurid revelations; though, there's a feeling of incompleteness to the movie - not because of the WAY it ends but because of how various lurid subplots are executed.