5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 2.9 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
A sexy thriller based on the New York Times best seller by Pete Dexter. Lured by imploring letters from the beautiful siren Charlotte (Nicole Kidman), handsome, hard-nosed reporter Ward James (Matthew McConaughey) and his partner, Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo), return to Ward's hometown of Lately, Florida, to investigate the seemingly unjust imprisonment of Charlotte's lover, alligator hunter Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack)
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, David OyelowoDrama | 100% |
Period | 14% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (256 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Does Matthew McConaughey have some sort of score to settle with the American South, the region of his birth? The lanky Texas native has recently essayed at least a couple of roles in southern set films where his characters aren’t exactly the standard bearers of moral probity. Killer Joe found McConaughey as a Texas lawman who had carved (and/or shot) out a side career as a hired hitman. Now in The Paperboy we move more or less directly east to Florida and find McConaughey as an apparently righteous reporter who has a few skeletons in his closet. Both Killer Joe and The Paperboy revel in a certain postmodern Southern Gothic atmosphere, positing dysfunctional families (to say the least) as well as a kind of fetid overall atmosphere where the heat and humidity may have helped to break down “traditional” morés. If the family dynamic in The Paperboy is decidedly more subdued, if ultimately no less roiled, than in Killer Joe, the general environment of this kind of quasi-murder mystery is no less unseemly, full of characters who aren’t always who they seem to be and whose relationships are often based on a kind of smarmy foundation. Co-writer and director Lee Daniels has a long history in either helming or producing films that feature morally questionable characters in kind of disturbing settings, and he once again exploits both of those elements in The Paperboy. The film is unabashedly melodramatic, as well as kind of unapologetically pulpy at its core. For those who don’t mind some over the top characters doing underhanded things, the film does offer some mostly well modulated performances. Nicole Kidman has come in for the lion’s share of critical accolades for her performance as blowsy “prison groupie” Charlotte Bless, though I personally found her Southern accent a rather wobbly construct, even if her overall demeanor is miles away from her usual more glamorous fare (in this regard, at least somewhat similar to Halle Berry’s Oscar winning turn in the Daniels produced Monster's Ball , which is due out in a new two-fer edition, after having been kind of oddly paired with Crash in another two-fer edition a couple of years ago).
The Paperboy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Millennium Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. I frankly didn't see The Paperboy in its very brief theatrical exhibition (at least in this market), so can't accurately judge how true to the original "look" of the film this Blu-ray is, but what immediately struck me about this transfer is how soft it is, no doubt due to the fact that this was shot on Super 16. Even some close-ups offer gauzy, relatively fuzzy imagery, which, considering Daniels' cinematographer is the well regarded Roberto Schaefer (Quantum of Solace), I have to assume was an intentional choice, perhaps to give the film a quasi-verité ambience. The other major issue here is how routinely contrast is pushed, to the point where many scenes seem to have a milky overlay poured over them. Now all of this may sound like The Paperboy looks pretty bad, but that's not the case. Taken on its own merits, there's a gritty quality to the appearance of this film that perfectly suits its lurid subject matter. This isn't a "pretty" film, or an eye popping high definition presentation, but it's an authentic one.
The Paperboy features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix which only really fully exploits the surround channels in a couple of ways, the ubiquitous source cues Daniels incorporates in the film (none of which would probably be considered "Top 10" 1969 material) and in some of the swamp scenes, where some well placed ambient environmental noise is well utilized to help create sonic atmosphere. The bulk of this film plays out in intimate dialogue scenes, and the track supports that facet very well. Occasionally some slight increase in immersion will show up (a scene of Kidman and Efron running madly down a motel balcony has some good effects), but this is a fairly front heavy mix, as should probably be expected from the kind of proto-indie ambience Daniels is going for.
The Paperboy has a fantastic cast, but they're all largely adrift in the morass of this screenplay and Daniels' unfocused attempts to knit together a cohesive story. The film works in dribs and drabs, and while Kidman has gotten most of the attention, there are some rather good turns here by McConaughey and even Efron, who shows some unexpected range. Fans of any of these actors may want to check this out as a rental, but I seriously doubt very many people are going to want to add this to their permanent collection.
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