The Paperboy Directed by: Lee Daniels Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: October 5, 2012
TRAILER SCORE: 6/10
Thoughts by TSR: I came out of Lee Daniels’ Precious generally positive, but I wouldn’t say I was clamoring to find out what he would do next. Then The Paperboy was announced and my interest piqued. Pete Dexter’s novel of the same name isn’t something I’ve read, but the general sleaziness of the story and the cast Daniels assembled made me very interested. Unfortunately, this first look is sort of all over the place.
The opening moments of this trailer are rather effective. If it had stopped after the 45 second mark I would probably be much more positive, but the split screen nonsense sends it off the rails a bit. It’s not an especially well cut trailer and even borders on incoherent at times. Despite all that, however, there is still a lot to like. The cast looks uniformly good. Zac Efron, John Cusack, and especially Matthew McConaughey are all actors I generally like, so I do not begrudge their involvement at all. Cusack in particular looks creepy as the accused killer. The way he says “Where you goin’ paperboy?” at the end is great, and it’s one of the best non-Nicole Kidman moments the trailer has to offer. But this belongs to Kidman. She’s on fire, clearly reveling the opportunity to play this woman. With an assist from some wonderfully garish costumes, she pops off the screen and I cannot wait to see more of her work.
The Paperboy could very well end up being a complete mess, but with Nicole Kidman letting go of all inhibitions, it should be something to behold no matter what.