Starring: Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey
Miami Times journalist, Ward Jansen (McConaughey) returns to
his small hometown with his writing partner, Yardley Acheman (Daniel Oyelowo)
to write in favour of the release of Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack),
currently on death row for murder. The assignment leads them to Van Wetter’s
prison pen pal sweetheart (Kidman), who becomes the object of desire for Ward’s
younger brother, Jack (Efron).
Set against the balmy back-drop of late-1960’s Florida, The
Paperboy is a unique but not entirely satisfying effort. The casting is pretty
much dead-on in this film, with particular praise going to Nicole Kidman who
seamlessly slips into a Southern accent and despite being the central love
interest, there’s something…not quite right about her. For a film rated 15, The
Paperboy pushes the certification to the limit. The film has numerous scenes of
bloodletting, Kidman’s first on-screen appearance with Cusack in the film is
also a little odd and well, the mixture of Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron covered in
jellyfish stings is not one with a particularly pleasing conclusion, unless you’re
a distinctly kinky disposition. The problem is that whilst the film looks
great, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts. What should be a steamy,
sexy mystery set against the Everglades just trundles along, occasionally
shocking, sometimes intriguing, but never quite getting the lift it needs.
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