Nicole Kidman sizzles in sexy southern noir The Paperboy
Kidman, who 'secretes sensuality like a snail does slime', plays a woman trying to free a death row inmate
What you need to knowAmerican noir thriller The Paperboy, directed by Lee Daniels (Precious) from a screenplay by Pete Dexter, opens in UK cinemas today. It was famously booed at Cannes, but several critics liked it – and some who didn’t have since changed their minds.
The Paperboy is set in 1960s small-town Florida where Charlotte Bless, a promiscuous woman who writes to prison inmates, coaxes a Miami Times reporter and his brother into helping her free death row convict Hillary Van Wetter.
Nicole Kidman stars as Charlotte, Matthew McConaughey is the reporter, and Zac Efron is his drop-out brother. John Cusack plays Hillary Van Wetter. See trailer below.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What the critics likeBoring it's not, says Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. This "campy southern trash-wallow" has guts and heaps of atmosphere. It’s shamelessly lurid but there's no denying its profane energy.
A flick that should never have been shown at Cannes, says the Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin who disliked it then, but has since changed his mind and now gives it four stars. It's "a heady mirage of sex, swamps and soul music that wants nothing more than for you to share in the joke. Thank goodness I finally got it.” As for Kidman, she "secretes sensuality like a slug does slime".
Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times agrees. "Kidman is a force of nature," she says. "More vulnerable, more sensual than she has ever been".
What they don’t likeIt’s a good story about people who are not what they seem, a true swamp tale - but it's "messily ineffective", says David Denby in the New Yorker. Daniel’s "slovenly" direction wastes some good performances, especially those by Kidman and Cusack.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?
Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
By The Week UK Published
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Knife: Salman Rushdie's 'mesmeric memoir' of brutal attack
The Week Recommends The author's account of ordeal which cost him his eye is both 'scary and heartwarming'
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Westbury Hotel review: stunning suites in charming Dublin
The Week Recommends This hotel is the perfect spot to while away a weekend in Ireland's capital
By Kaye O'Doherty Published
-
Drama movies 2024: new films out this year
In Depth Latest reviews include The Boys in the Boat, One Life and Tchaikovsky's Wife
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Best new hotels and places to stay in 2024
The Week Recommends Featuring stylish island resorts, historical properties and wilderness retreats
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Albums of the year: best music of 2023
The Week Recommends A look back at the best pop, rap, jazz, dance, classical and rock releases
By The Week UK Published
-
Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay review: an institution reinvented
The Week Recommends Traditions are maintained and the tweaks are clever and modern
By Neil Davey Published
-
Tulum: a Mexican beach town of 'two halves'
The Week Recommends With the 'pueblo' and 'Zona Hotelera', Tulum is home to great hotels, restaurants and beach clubs
By William Leigh Published
-
La Zebra review: beach chic, perfect tacos and secret cenotes
The Week Recommends Enjoy a stylish stay in Mexico at this family-friendly beach hotel and restaurant
By William Leigh Published
-
Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas review: a mythical beachside resort
The Week Recommends Combine the classically simple pleasures of sun, sea and sand with upmarket fun and food
By Adrienne Wyper Published