Saturday Movies: The Paperboy (2012)

There comes a time when someone tries to make a movie too out there and, The Paperboy exceeds that. It tried to shoot for oddness, and it over shot by far the possibilities of being odd with characters that you can't relate to, and a story so bizarre it would be difficult to recommend to anyone. There is some good acting in it, but it gets lost in the story trying to be too weird and scenes that are very graphic.

Ward Jensen returns to his hometown with his assistant Yardley. The hometown he is from is though is still reeling from racism though, so the reception is mixed once they arrive. Ward isn't worried about that though as he is there to get a man off death row for a crime he thinks he has been wrongly convicted of, the thing is this guy is a loose cannon, so he almost seems like he would have wound up there in the first place. Along with trying to help this guy he finds his family in some odd transitioning phases, like his brother, Jack who is falling for the girlfriend of the man wrongly convicted, and Ward has his own problems he is battling on his own.


The thing is this movie has a cast that you would think it would make it an instant hit. Nicole Kidman is the strongest of the cast but, she can't really save the movie. Her depiction of the very off Charlotte who seems desperate for attention is riveting, but it also makes no sense. She goes for guys in prison who seem abusive, but we are given no basis for this. On top of that the scenes get really graphic as far as violence and sexuality, and they don't really contribute much to the film either.

Matthew McConaughey is Ward, and he does a good job with the character, but again we sort of a have character for no reason the way he is. Why does he enjoy the twist revealed later in the movie? Either it said it without me being aware, or it never explained. Then there is Zac Efron trying to break away from his High School Musical image, and while Efron seems to be a good actor, particularly in his role as Ward's brother, Jack, he has chosen a movie that is not a great place to start to do that at. He's surrounded by a great cast, but the story is just way odd, and he's an even odder character.

You would probably recognize this director as the guy who did Precious though, which was an Oscar hit a few years ago. This one does have a lot of that same vibe with it and, does deal with race again, though it doesn't serve as the main topic. There is also John Cusack who plays the crazy accused killer, Hillary. I've heard mixed reviews on his performance with some saying they thought he did a good job, and others not too keen on it. Personally, I thought he was decent, but nothing memorable.

The Paperboy is an odd movie to sit through and, in a way that makes it painful to watch. There probably was a lot of creativity and, hope for a story line that got lost when the director tried to make it something memorable causing it to be forced. There is also not one character who resonates with the viewer as these are people who are given no reason for how they live their lives.

Rating 5 of 10.