THE PAPERBOY

THE PAPERBOY - TRAILER

‘Precious’ demonstrated that Daniels was a director with genuine style, willing to play and manipulate aesthetic to often unusual ends. ‘The Paperboy’ is an even more impressive and cohesive achievement, a glorious play on the low-budget exploitation flicks of the 60s and 70s. Everything about the film is dirty and dripping with sweat. Both men and women have no qualms spending most of the film in various stages of undress. Editing and cinematography is sketchy and ugly, the camera often out of focus or badly framed. This is an ugly-looking film, but its commitment to this style also makes it quite beautiful. Daniels and his team stick to the aesthetic entirely, and that bravery and attention to detail make this one of the most distinct films of the year. It’s also camp as hell and often ridiculous, including a now-infamous "shower" scene between Kidman and Efron that is there, not only because it has narrative function, but also because it’s incredibly silly. This is unabashed melodrama, mixed with some genuinely nerve-wracking sequences as the film goes from nostalgic camp to intense and brutal thriller.

The performances are also uniformly fantastic. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to name a weak member. Efron gives one of his most intelligent performances yet, further suggesting that there might be more to him than a pretty face. Oyelowo has a terrific grasp on the style of the film, and is gleefully put out by this sweaty small town. McConaughey is real wildfire, physical and charismatic and unpredictable, and still one of the most interesting actors working today. Cusack is the best he has been in ages, a wonderfully disgusting pig of a performance. Even Macy Gray is terrific as the moral heart of the film, a black woman stuck in a terribly bigoted town. And then there’s Nicole Kidman, who absolutely steals the film as Charlotte. This is a powerhouse performance, absolute dynamite. Kidman throws all caution to the wind, big, bold and brilliant, a much-needed reminder of how great an actor she is. This woman was robbed of her Oscar nomination.

‘The Paperboy’ is unapologetically pulp, an instant camp classic dripping with sweat and blood and spit. Lee Daniels has delivered one hell of an experience, and further asserted himself as a significant talent to watch. This film may have disappeared during its time in the cinema, but its Blu-ray release gives it the second shot it so very much deserves. This will certainly end up on my list of the best films of the year. It would be a guilty pleasure if it wasn’t so genuinely damn good.

PICTURE & SOUND
At first glance, this might not seem the kind of film to show off the visual and audio excellence of the Blu-ray format, but a film this visually distinct really shines in the format. The 1080p 2.40:1 transfer looks grainy, dirty and tired, and thus recreates Daniels’ intentions perfectly. In high definition, all this detail really shines, excess grain muddying the image and giving it a strong sense of the past. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track also shows the film’s "age", and while it could have been a tad clearer, it at least fits well with the image.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Roadshow have provided no features for this release, but while this might usually be a negative, I can’t imagine they would have added to the experience of the film. The U.S. release only has about half an hour of bland featurettes, so we haven’t missed out on much.

Click here to read our 4-star review of 'The Paperboy'.

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Competition opens at 4:00pm AEST on Monday 24th June 2013 and closes at 11:59 pm AEST on Monday 1st July 2013. Five winners will be chosen at random on Tuesday 2nd July 2013. To successfully win, entrants must fulfil the above entry conditions before the time the competition closes. Current members/followers are eligible to enter the competition. Only one entry per person. Only one winner per household. To be a valid winner, the entrant must not have won a prize from SWITCH within the last 28 days. Each winner will receive one DVD copy of 'The Paperboy'. By entering, you agree to receive occasional emails from SWITCH in the future. If you decide to unsubscribe from these updates, any further entries will not be applicable. Only Australian residents are eligible to enter.