Review: The Paperboy (2013)

The Paperboy (2013)  

Released: 15 March 2013

Director: Lee Daniels

Cast: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack

Plot: Reporter Jack Jansen (Efron) returns to his hometown to investigate the murder of a local Sherriff, for which the convict (Cusack) is on death row.

ADAPTED from Pete Dexter’s novel of the same name, The Paperboy managed to snag itself a Cannes selection, probably due to a style and flair usually absent from Hollywood thrillers. But this combined with a solid, intriguing story and characters worth investing your attention in make it a distinguished piece of modern filmmaking. Shot on grainy widescreen 16mm and enlarged to 35, sometimes reflecting elements of Blaxploitation as well as sexploitation, the film appears as if literally plucked from the 70s, born of the era’s values and a product of its troubles.

It tells the story of Jack, of the Jansen family, which consists of his brother Ward (McConaughey), father and stepmother whom Jack and Ward are not particularly fond of. Rather, Jack finds friendship and maternal affections in his house help Anita (played brilliantly by Macy Gray, also narrating to the same degree), which result in some of the more memorable and adoring scenes, one even arguably the most humourous. The role of Jack marks Efron’s best work yet, batting the critics who associate his career with that Disney trilogy – an image by no means easy to shed, yet here is successfully so.

Kidman is barely recognisable as the white- trash object of Jack’s obsession Charlotte, looking and acting as if plucked from a Deep South edition of The Only Way Is Essex (The Only Way is Texas?) than the typically classy damsel Kidman audiences have familiarised themselves with. It could even be her standout performance, if not, a strong contender. Here, it is certainly the standout. It also provides a change of pace for McConaughey; whose performance grows on a script so easy on the ear it also feels as if the audience is witness to documented conversation. In an equally notable fashion, home grown actor David Oyelowo and John Cusack (his best work too) take on highly enjoyable and prevalent roles that are by no means peripheral.

The film’s strength is in its subtle storytelling, which is counterweighted simply by its content and subject matter. The graphic and just-the-right-side-of-gratuitous violence and sex just feel denotative of such a Southern lifestyle lived by its feral inhabitants. We see the more glamorous inner city settings, beaches and offices, which are contrasted with the bleak, dirty shabbiness of the swamps, where its dwellers are equally unappealing (and we’re not just talking about the crocs).

The real drama comes from Jack’s awkward and desperate desire to ‘jump on’ (as narrated) Charlotte, while trying to contemplate her desire for dangerous men – depicted in two prison visits, one of which is the film’s best, if most crude, scene. The audience is occasionally put behind the eyes of the youngster for daydream or half-conscious sequences, most if not all of which veer on at Kidman’s Charlotte longingly or lustfully. He’s a brash, often mouthy and emotive individual, and she, an overtly sexual, self- destructive mess – but something inside us wants to see it work out. Which, though, is something that the narrative playfully but consistently wraps a cloth of uncertainty around.

It is not without fault, though. At times the script leaves too much to wonder, and viewers could feel as though they are backtracking what’s previously happened in order to understand what’s happening before them, like flicking back through a lengthy novel. However, this is usually where The Paperboy once again grasps your attention in often a shocking way, and in a rare scenario by today’s structural standards, the third act not only maintains the pace of the prior two, but stands above them.

Pete Dexter (writer of both the original novel and screenplay) and Lee Daniels (writ/dir.) work together successfully to assert ownership over this engaging piece of cinema – it is most definitely a result of their respective skills – resulting in a finished product that is poignant, memorable and timeless in its content, sporting re-watching value (little things can be picked up on in hindsight) and dynamic characters that accompany a visually compound picture of high quality.

Verdict: Melodramatic and affecting yet strangely engrossing, The Paperboy tells a thrilling tale of mystery, troubled youth and societal decay with an effective vintage sheen. Have an accommodating mind and don’t be perturbed by the criticism. ★★★★