Review of The Paperboy (2012) by Johan V — 01 Feb 2013

I enjoyed the movie in the beginning, though it was consistently inconsistent. By the end it was too needlessly confusing and inconsistent to be satisfying or enjoyable. My biggest frustration was the mid-scene cuts that cut back in to the same scene but with things slightly different and never explained.

Nicole Kidman's acting is worth mentioning. It is fun to see an actor cast in a role opposite of the roles she usually plays. She did it well. Her character was flat, though, and the little change thrown in at the end seemed abrupt and underdeveloped.

John Cusack was hardly in the film but stood out as a selfish, angry, crazy convicted murderer; his character was too underdeveloped though to stand-out or emotionally affect the audience much. Matthew McConaughey was himself-boo! The housekeeper/acting mother character was really probably the best acted in the movie.

She was the narrator of the story. Her character brought humor and perspective to the film and story. There were too many pointless characters, for example John Cusack's character's uncle. He had some sort of commune (?) living in the wilderness that was unexplained and thus confusing.

I found Matthew McConaughey's writing partner's character to be pointless, as well. His character was a sloppy excuse at character development that just emphasized the character underdevelopment.