In Paperboy, the character (Charlotte) that is portrayed by Nicole Kidman is much different than what we are used to. The film is set in 1969, Florida. A reporter named Ward Jansen comes to Florida with the intention of investigating and writing a story about a death-row inmate Hillary Van Wetter. Ward’s brother Jack, his partner Yardley and Hillary’s girlfriend Charlotte helps him investigate.

Paperboy has a lot of bizarre scenes and undoubtedly one of the most shocking and controversial scenes is where Charlotte pees on Jack because he is stung by jellyfish. There are a lot of things happening in the film however it feels like out of place, the storyline is not well organised. It is almost too difficult to catch up. The main theme of the film remains unclear. Is the film about corruption? racism in 1960s? crime? or just sexuality?

Zac Efron’s character Jack is hired by his brother Ward to be their driver but Ward and Yardley can drive. It seems like there is no need for him. He falls in love with Charlotte, they have sex and at the end he gets his brother killed by Hilary because he suddenly decides to visit Charlotte after her boyfriend Yardley’s departure from the prison. However, she was killed by her criminal lover Hillary. Zac’s character Jack is almost too irrelevant. Was he just there to fall in love with a vixen like woman Charlotte? or just to get his brother in trouble?

Even though the narrative was not structured nicely, Nicole Kidman’s acting was outstanding. She peed on Zac Efron, she masturbated and she played dead at the end. She proved the audience with that film that she can pull off any role. She is a versatile actress. She is flexible with the characters she plays. She does not stick to the similar characters. She takes risks and she succeeds. In my opinion, it would be unbearable to watch this film without her.

personal rating: 4/10