It was 2012 at the Cannes Film Festival. The lights went down, the screen flickered to life, and suddenly, one of the most respected actresses on the planet was squatting over a Disney star on a beach. If you haven't seen it, you've definitely heard about it. Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy is a fever dream of a performance that remains one of the most polarizing moments in modern cinema.
Honestly, it’s a lot.
Directed by Lee Daniels, the man behind Precious, the film is a humid, sticky, Southern Gothic noir that feels like it’s dripping with sweat and bad intentions. Kidman plays Charlotte Bless, a woman with a very specific, very dangerous hobby: she falls in love with men on death row. Specifically, she’s obsessed with Hillary Van Wetter (played with terrifying creepiness by John Cusack). When two journalists (Matthew McConaughey and David Oyelowo) arrive in a small Florida town to investigate Van Wetter’s conviction, they bring along a younger brother, Jack (Zac Efron). What follows is a messy, lurid, and deeply uncomfortable story where Kidman’s character is the chaotic center.
💡 You might also like: White Lotus Trailer Season 3: What Most People Get Wrong
The Role That Broke the Internet (Before That Was a Thing)
Let’s talk about the jellyfish.
In the film's most infamous scene, Jack gets stung by a swarm of jellyfish while at the beach. Instead of calling an ambulance or, you know, using vinegar, Charlotte takes charge. "If anyone's gonna piss on him, it's gonna be me!" she screams. And she does. Right there. On camera.
People lost their minds.
But if you focus only on the "urine scene," you’re kinda missing the point of what Kidman was doing. This wasn't just shock value for the sake of it. Kidman has spent her career oscillating between "prestige" roles like The Hours and weird, gritty indie projects. For her, Charlotte Bless was an exercise in total fearlessness. She did her own hair and makeup for the role, opting for a look that can only be described as "lot-lizard chic"—over-processed platinum hair, thick blue eyeliner, and outfits that look like they were bought at a gas station in 1969.
💡 You might also like: Blame It on the Boogie: The Messy Truth Behind the Jackson 5’s Disco Lifeline
Why Lee Daniels Pushed the Boundaries
Lee Daniels isn't a director who does "subtle." He wanted the film to feel like a "sweaty chain letter." During production, he reportedly told Kidman to "eat and not stop eating" because he wanted her to have "junk in the trunk." He wanted a version of Kidman we hadn't seen—voluptuous, raw, and fundamentally broken.
The chemistry on set was... unique. Kidman and John Cusack reportedly didn't meet as themselves until after the movie was finished. They stayed in character the entire time. That tension is palpable in the "telepathic sex" scene in the prison—a sequence so bizarre and aggressive that it makes the jellyfish moment look like a Disney movie. It’s uncomfortable to watch, which is exactly what Daniels was aiming for. He wanted to capture the desperation of a woman who is so lonely she finds intimacy through a plexiglass window.
Critical Backlash vs. Cult Recognition
When The Paperboy premiered, the critics weren't just mean; they were confused. One critic at Cannes claimed the film received a 16-minute standing ovation, while another corrected them, saying it was actually 15 minutes of "jeering and mooing."
Basically, half the room thought it was a masterpiece of camp, and the other half thought it was the worst thing ever made.
- The "Worst Film" Labels: The A.V. Club famously named it the worst film of 2012.
- The Awards Recognition: Despite the hate, the industry couldn't ignore Kidman. She actually landed Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for the role.
- The "Actresses in Need of a New Agent" Award: On the flip side, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists nominated her for a "New Agent" award, basically suggesting she had lost her mind by taking the part.
It’s rare to see a performance that is simultaneously considered "best of the year" and "career-ending trash." That’s the magic of Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy. She isn't playing for the middle of the road. She’s either hitting a home run or striking out so hard she falls over.
More Than Just "Trashy" Cinema
If you look past the grit, there’s a surprising amount of nuance in how Kidman plays Charlotte. She’s a "hybristophile"—someone attracted to people who commit crimes. It’s a real psychological phenomenon, and Kidman studied women who write to prisoners to get the headspace right.
There is a deep sadness in Charlotte. She’s a woman who is used to being looked at but never seen. When she’s with Zac Efron’s character, she’s almost motherly, even while she’s teasing him. When she’s with Cusack’s Van Wetter, she’s a submissive wreck. It’s a performance about the performance of womanhood in a world that only values you if you're "on."
Is The Paperboy Actually Good?
That’s a tough one.
If you like your movies clean, logical, and polite, stay far away. The Paperboy is none of those things. It’s a "humid wallow," as Roger Ebert put it. It’s a movie where Matthew McConaughey gets brutally beaten, Macy Gray provides a weary narration, and Zac Efron spends about 80% of his screen time in his underwear.
But if you appreciate "Great Trash"—films that are so committed to their own weirdness that they become something else entirely—it’s essential viewing. It’s a snapshot of a moment in the early 2010s when big stars were willing to get genuinely gross for the sake of art.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re brave enough to revisit this one, don't watch it for the plot. The plot is a bit of a mess. Watch it for the textures. Look at the way the light hits the swamp water. Listen to the way Kidman changes her voice—that high-pitched, Southern-fried drawl that feels like it’s masking a scream.
- Check out the original novel: Written by Pete Dexter, it’s much more "serious" and elegiac than the movie. It gives you a better sense of the internal lives of these characters.
- Compare it to Kidman's other "wild" roles: Watch To Die For (1995) or Birth (2004). You’ll see a pattern of her choosing roles that challenge the "Hollywood Ice Queen" persona people tried to force on her.
- Watch the "Press Conference" footage from Cannes 2012: It’s almost as entertaining as the movie. Seeing the cast try to explain the "pissing scene" to a room of serious French journalists is a masterclass in awkwardness.
Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy isn't a role meant to be liked. It’s meant to be experienced. It’s a reminder that even in a highly controlled industry, things can still get weird, sweaty, and completely unhinged. Whether it's a "masterpiece" or "garbage" doesn't really matter—the fact that we're still talking about it over a decade later proves that Kidman did exactly what she set out to do.