In his follow-up to Precious, filmmaker Lee Daniels demonstrates that he has lost none of his power to push the public’s buttons. The Paperboy, based on the 1995 novel by Pete Dexter, is a lurid Southern gothic that is equal parts fun trash and frustrating spectacle. It’s the summer of 1969, and Miami Times reporter Ward Jansen (McConaughey) returns to his home town of Lately, Fla., to investigate the possible wrongful conviction of Hillary Van Wetter (Cusack) for the murder of the local sheriff. Aiding the investigation are black reporter Yardley Acheman (Oyelowo), Ward’s 20-year-old brother Jack (Efron), and Charlotte Bless (Kidman), a slutty blond with a fetish for imprisoned men. With these pieces on the chessboard, Daniels starts moving them around like a whirligig, until their perverted momentum eventually overtakes any impulse to solve the murder. Despite all its garish accoutrements and salacious underpinnings, The Paperboy is a hoot to watch.
Opened 10/26/12