The Paperboy

The astonishing thing about The Paperboy is that a number of people, from the director to the studio executives, thought that this film was actually releasable. It is a train wreck. Lee Daniels, who scored an Oscar nod for Precious, directs as if wearing a blindfold, and the whole thing is an unpleasant mess.

Set in Florida in the 1960s, The Paperboy, based on the novel by Pete Dexter (he co-wrote the screenplay, so shares blame) is about two brothers (Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron) who are investigating the death of a sheriff. The arrested person (John Cusack), is a swamp rat who is only interested in his pen pal (Nicole Kidman), who has a habit of writing to prisoners. Also along for the ride is a black journalist (David Oyelowo) who can't believe how backward the place is.

It's hard to start detailing how bad this movie is. The editing, acting, photography are all grating. The cinematography, by Roberto Schaefer, seems to want to recapture a faded, left in the sun look, which is effective for suggesting heat, but makes the whole thing ugly. Daniels' shot selection is bizarre, and the acting is all over the place.

Kidman, who received a couple of nominations from award organizations, was let out of the cage. She plays a white trash woman who is forced to play some really over the top scenes. Most famously, she is called upon to urinate on Efron after he is stung by jellyfish, but the most eye-opening scene is when she visits Cusack and they masturbate across from each other in the prison visiting room--with McConaughey, Efron, and Oyelowo sitting beside them.

For those interested, Efron spends a lot of time just wearing tightie whities, which may be the only redeeming feature of this film.