Indie Film Spotlight: Zac Efron is All Grown Up in "The Paperboy"

Films set in the southern states have always appealed to me. Among my favorites are Hush....Hush, Sweet Charlotte and Body Heat, which both feature quirky characters, large estates, sweltering heat and an element of murder. Perhaps it is the heat that makes people do crazy things. For instance, when Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) brandishes a shotgun to the construction crew who are trying to bulldoze her home in Hush....Hush, Sweet Charlotte, or when Ned Racine concocts a scheme to murder the husband of his generous and passionate lover, Maddie Walker (Kathleen Turner), in Body Heat. The heat may also be a contributing factor in the bizarre behavior depicted in director Lee Daniels' latest film The Paperboy, which is set in southern Florida in the late 1960s.

Like the aforementioned films, The Paperboy features quirky characters, sweltering heat and an element of murder. It more closely resembles Body Heat in its approach to sexual longing and passion. That is made abundantly clear when young Jack Jansen (Zac Efron) is shown wearing only his underwear in multiple scenes, which fully displays his lean and muscular body. Of course, it is very hot and Jack wants to keep cool (while offering titillation to viewers, no doubt). As the film moves along, we learn that Jack has not had sex in quite some time, which appears to be directly related to his absent mother, who left the family for a new life across the country (calling Dr. Freud). Jack manages to keep his sexual urges in check until a older woman, Charlotte (there's that name again), played by Nicole Kidman, arrives in town to meet with Jack's brother, Ward (Matthew McConaughey), who is investigating a murder case that resulted in Charlotte's husband, Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack), being sent to prison.

Charlotte is not quite what you might expect. She covers up her beauty with too much make-up and a messy hairstyle, but Jack sees something in Charlotte, perhaps his own mother, that gets him all hot and bothered. While Charlotte may appear to be trashy, she intends to be faithful to Hillary, even though she understands that Jack wants to have sex with her. That does not deter Jack, who becomes sullen when the sexual temptations become too much to handle. Instead of finding a more appropriate relationship, he decides to wait for Charlotte. His patience is admirable, but not necessarily believable.

Meanwhile, Ward and his partner, Yardley (David Oyelowo), have reason to believe that Hillary did not commit the murder that he has been imprisoned for. As a result, the men place themselves in dangerous situations with a potential suspect and even during prison visits with Hillary, who seems like he has the capacity to kill. Eventually, Jack becomes involved with Ward's investigation, thanks to his longing for Charlotte, thus putting him in danger, too. The Paperboy is told in flashbacks, as the Jansen maid, Anita (Macy Gray), recounts what happened to the Jansen brothers. Gray's voice is immediately recognizable and she delivers a fine performance.

Zac Efron receives more screen time than his veterans co-stars and delivers a surprising performance in terms of depth. Yes, his physical attributes are on display most of the time, but there is much emotion simmering beneath the surface, including desire, anger, frustration and loneliness. Jack looks like he could erupt at any moment, but he keeps his emotions bottled up for the most part. However, they eventually come spilling out during the final 15 minutes, which gives Efron a platform to show how well he has developed as an actor.

The Paperboy is a very different kind of film that deals with a few unexpected and unorthodox situations. They including Hillary and Charlotte achieving orgasm without touching, Charlotte urinating on Jack after he is stung by a jellyfish, and a few scenes of brutality that I, personally, could have done without. Clearly, Lee Daniels, who also wrote the screenplay, which is based on the novel, of the same name, by Pete Dexter, is not afraid to delve into the depravity of these characters and their sordid lives. As a result, he elicits interesting performances from his cast, who are up for the challenge. I liked The Paperboy enough to want to watch it a second time, mainly because of the performances, cinematography and music, but I realize that I may be in the minority.