Review - The Paperboy (2012)

On DVD and BLU RAY - "The Paperboy" - (2012) - You'll probably want to take a long, hot shower after watching this tawdry southern gothic yarn, though it may just take a wire brush to get all the grimy filth off.  It's 1969 Florida, as an idealistic journalist (Matthew McConaughey) who, along with his younger, paperboy brother (Zac Efron) and an ambitious writer (David Oyelowo), set out to clear the name of a seedy swamp rat (a miscast, but game John Cusack) awaiting execution for the murder of a corrupt sheriff.  Throw in a white trash, death row groupie (Nicole Kidman) infatuated with the accused and a mumbling housemaid (Macy Gray) supplying narration and you've got a fine cast with a promising setup- too bad the execution of the narrative is wildly uneven.

Solid performances and a few shocking scenes allow the film to tread water for a short while, but it ultimately drowns under shoddy editing, a listless visual style and absolutely clueless Direction- there isn't an ounce of confident flair or energy whenever the narrative needs it most.  It's goofy and awkward one moment, deadly serious the next- with certain elements reminiscent of southern fried Crime Thrillers such as Palmetto, China Moon, Cape Fear (1991), Texas Killing Fields, and U Turn , (all films I didn't care for) it's one of the more imbalanced noir flicks I've seen in quite some time.

Expect to see Efron constantly ambling around in his tighty whities, Kidman urinating on a fellow's face, a nude and hog-tied McConaughey being sexually assaulted, the closeup of an alligator being gutted, an unfortunate individual having his throat cut with a machete and Cusack performing an immaculate ejaculation in his jeans. Yeah, "lurid" is the word of the day.  Perhaps if every character hadn't been presented as so painfully paper-thin and lacking of clear motivations, these tacked-together situations and random events may have borne some semblance of considerable weight.  As is, this film feels like Cliff's Notes for a more substantial work...

My recommendation is to skip this misfire and watch any one (or all) of a host of similarly toned, modern noir films such as Chinatown, Devil In A Blue Dress, Twilight, 52 Pick-Up, Body Heat, Red Rock West, No Mercy, Blood Simple, Brick, L.A. Confidential, White Sands, The Lookout, A History of Violence, Heaven's Prisoners, The Grifters, Romeo Is Bleeding and/or The Mean Season instead.

4.5 out of 10

Director: Lee Daniels
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray and Scott Glenn
Running Time: 107 Minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong sexual content, violence and language