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Title SpotlightCrime

The Paperboy

CrimeDramaMystery

A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.

Year

2012

Duration

1h 47m

IMDb

5.7

Hero Poster

Cast

Lee Daniels

Director

Matthew McConaughey

Ward Jansen

Nicole Kidman

Charlotte Bless

Cast

Lee Daniels

Director

Matthew McConaughey

Ward Jansen

Nicole Kidman

Charlotte Bless

John Cusack

Hillary Van Wetter

Zac Efron

Jack Jansen

David Oyelowo

Yardley Acheman

Scott Glenn

W.W. Jansen

Ned Bellamy

Tyree Van Wetter

Nealla Gordon

Ellen Guthrie

Macy Gray

Anita Chester

EB

Edrick Browne

Hustler #1

Kevin Waterman

Victim

DH

Danny Hanemann

Sheriff Thurmond Call

Peter Murnik

Death Row Guard

John P. Fertitta

Sam Ellison

JO

Jay Oliver

Mr. Guthrie

JO

Jay Oliver

Wedding Guest

Gary Clarke

Weldon Pine

Ava Bogle

Renee

Ava Bogle

Nail Biter

AS

Adam Sibley

Eugene

PD

Peter Dexter

Writer

Lee Daniels

Writer

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

Diane RussetMar 22, 2026

Sonika KcJul 18, 2024

user2318973254070Jul 15, 2024

Cyrille May 29, 2023

source: The Paperboy

Irfan KhanNov 22, 2022

Garbage, and its about time someone talks about absolute s**t being made instead of entertainment. All of Hollywood is in cost cutting mode, except for a select few film production houses, and this garbage reeks of, in fact, stinks of, cost cutting techniques. 1. This is a film set in the mid 60s, but you never ever get the feel of mystery and drama in the 60s. WHY? Cos 90% of the film is shot indoors with close up camera shots, either in the garage or in the house , because to create the feel of the 60s you would need ten times the budget, you'd need a killer soundtrack, and you'd need five times more camera work. So, they give us this s**t in the name of "realistic" film making. READ: Low budgets. 2. The dialogue - absolute rubbish. So much of small talk between the dialogues and unnecessary shaky camera work to make things look realistic, but there is only so much of that you can take. You need stylish camera work, lighting, effects, and a tight script to entertain. Not overacting, and exaggerated reactions from the actors - esp from Zac, Matthew and the third coloured cop - to compensate for the lack of artistry in creating the emotion. 3. Cheap stunts to create drama - you will see absolute irrelevant nonsense happening every now and then, and for a few minutes, this nonsense takes over, and becomes like the real story. Why? to compensate for lack of a tight script, and locales, and a soundtrack to keep the viewer entertained. There is no mystery, this is a lousy bore of a film. Today such garbage is marketed as realistic cinema, and some wise a** reviewers will talk about the characters, and the realism, when all these jerks are paid for is to write such dribble. he point is: was the film well made and was you entertained? NO to BOTH. cos in todays world, piracy is killing budgets, there are too many filmmakers, and to make a good film, you need big money, which very very few studios and filmmakers get. I this film has 30 to 40 million USD, it could have turned into something like an LA Confidential. But sadly, it turned into S**T in capitals.

LiyaNov 22, 2022

Most disturbing movie I have ever seen. How in the world did Lee Daniels put his name on this movie. And how did he get this kind of talent to do this movie. ALL time worse movie. I was hopeful when I saw who was starring in this movie. I am puzzled as to why someone would write a book of this nature and further puzzled that a movie was made with this theme. I can honestly say I couldn't believe what I was watching but I stuck it out until the end. Wish I had stopped half way through the movie because it only got worse. I have never given this kind of critique to a movie. I usually think enjoyment of a movie is a personal experience. I can't imagine anyone enjoying this movie.

🤘LUCI ☄️FER👌👌🔥⚡️Nov 22, 2022

This is a bizarre story of a collection of very strange people in swamp land. A reporter (McConaughey) and his brother (Efron) help exonerate a man (Cusack) for killing a sheriff. Nicole Kidman tests her acting ability and is quite convincing as a self destructive white trash who falls in love with the prisoner (John Cusack). She's got the dialog and body language down and looks very different from her usual ladylike sophisticated self. Poor Matthew McConaughey, uglied up, raped beaten maimed and finally throat cut. Zaf Efron looks quite convincingly lovesick as the totally whipped guy in love with Kidman's character. What an idiot his character is causing the death of his brother. Still don't understand the point of freeing Cusack so he could murder. A major directing and screenplay flaw is that some plot elements are revealed in heavily accented dialog which is hard to follow. To cap this often senseless story is a lush 60s European style film score that is quite inappropriately beautiful. Watch it if you are a fan of the stars but be prepared it's way out there.

kholuNov 22, 2022

With The Paperboy, we have the arrival of a major new cinematic talent - Lee Daniels. Though his first two films (the bizarre Shadowboxer and the extremely well-acted Precious) had their merits, only with The Paperboy do we finally see the maturation of his craft, the arrival of a distinct new voice. It is a hypnotically bold, daringly original, and utterly fearless film that seemingly effortlessly dances between drama and comedy, tenderness and tension, completely unafraid to go to shocking, dangerous places. It feels totally unpredictable, and nothing about it feels safe, which is something far too many movies are these days. The Paperboy hearkens back to the audacious spirit of American cinema in the 1970s, when filmmakers weren't afraid to make outrageous works like Deliverance and Prime Cut. In this film's world, nothing is sacred, and because Daniels is so assured with this approach, so completely in control of every moment, watching it is an enthralling, absorbing, exhilarating experience. Rarely am I so entertained and captivated by a film, and even more rarely am I so blown away by a film's originality and daring. With The Paperboy, Lee Daniels created a world I didn't want to leave and a film I didn't want to end. I can't wait to see where he goes from here.

ines_tiktoker💜Nov 22, 2022

The infamous reputation of "The Paperboy" preceded my viewing of it, and I have to say after seeing it myself that it's......not that bad. It's not good, exactly, but I've seen much worse. You certainly can't criticize it for being boring, and I always say that if a movie is going to be bad, much better to be entertainingly bad than just merely dull. The film's biggest problem is a lack of focus. There are a lot of characters in it, all of them ugly, trashy people and played by the likes of Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey and John Cusack, but I never knew whose story this was or through whose point of view this story was being told. It's a sleazy, tawdry story set in the swamps of Florida about a crazy woman (Kidman) who's obsessed with a convict (Cusack) and two brothers (Efron and McConaughey), one who is himself obsessed with her and the other who is obsessed with clearing the convict's name. All of them are asked to do degrading things on camera, and the film has a hateful tone about humanity and the depraved things depraved people will do. But did I mention that it's never boring? Grade: B-

Alistromae123Nov 22, 2022

'THE PAPERBOY': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) An all-star cast highlights this bizarre dramatic thriller based on the book (of the same name) by Pete Dexter. The cast features Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, David Oyelowo, Scott Glenn and Macy Gray all playing against type in unusual roles (for each actor). It was written (along with Dexter) and directed by Lee Daniels (who is most well known for directing the critical darling and Oscar nominated 'PRECIOUS', which was also based on a popular book). The movie itself has gotten mostly bad reviews but Kidman has gotten plenty of high critical praise and award recognition for her performance in it (including a supporting actress Golden Globe nomination). The rest of the cast has been well received as well and Daniels is still seen as a skilled director but the trashy content of the film as well as it's overall muddled nature have been negatively criticized by many. I agree with the criticisms but still feel like I have to give it a lot of respect and credit for what it does manage to accomplish. The film revolves around a man named Hillary Van Wetter (Cusack) who's on death row for the murder of a local sheriff in a small Florida town. He's been communicating with a woman, Charlotte Bless (Kidman), he's never met via letters. Charlotte believes she's in love with Hillary and calls on the help of two reporters from Miami, Ward Jansen (McConaughey) and Yardley Acheman (Oyelowo), to help her prove he's innocent. Believing new evidence is available the two reporters travel to the Florida town, which is a return home for Ward (to the town he grew up in). Ward visits his dad (Glenn) and his new girlfriend (Nealla Gordon), who distribute his paper there. He also reunites with his kid brother Jack (Efron), who helps with their investigation. Jack is young and inexperienced with women and immediately falls for the sexy Charlotte. The Jansen's maid Anita (Gray) is Jack's only friend and she narrates the story. The movie is sleazy and trashy pulp like the films of yesteryear. Daniels brings a lot of style to his storytelling but it's still a mess. The visuals are often haunting and disturbing and you never really know where the film is going or what to make of anyone or anything in it. It is bizarrely interesting though and entertaining in a somewhat bitter way. Like a lot of films it has a lot of great moments but a lot of bad ones in between as well. The cast is all fantastic; Cusack is very strange and creepy, McConaughey seems to be playing a character like many others he's done before but he does take a sharp character twist, Efron is good as the shy yet determined heart of the film and Kidman is fantastic as the sex obsessed vixen. The movie is a mixed bag but it definitely has it's qualities. Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcoZRlVFMzA