FILM: The Paperboy (15)

Lee Daniels’s eagerly awaited follow up to the Oscar nominated domestic abuse drama, Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire, is one hot, sweaty mess that will sharply divide audiences.

Based on Pete Dexter’s 1995 novel, The Paperboy is a trashy portrait of 1969 swampy, small-town Florida, where newspaper journalist Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) returns to blow open the case of death row inmate Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack), who is accused of murdering a local sheriff.

Ward’s younger brother Jack (Zac Efron), media colleague Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo) and Wetter’s hilariously trashy fiancee, Charlotte Bless (a scene-stealing turn from Nicole Kidman) help and hinder the investigation as Ward wrestles with his own demons.

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Daniels’s film veers wildly from murder mystery to sex comedy, including an unforgettable scene in which a sizzling Kidman urinates on Efron to ease the pain of a jellyfish sting.

If there is method in the film’s spiralling madness, it’s not always easy to see but if you surrender to The Paperboy, and resign yourself to taking a shower afterwards to wash off the grime and sleaze, it delivers queasy and lurid treats, and a fair few shocks to boot.

Released: March 15 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas), 107 mins

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