Hold the Presses, its...The Paperboy

None of it was expected - not Zac Efron as a lovesick negro sympathizer (this was the sixties), not John Cusack as a murderous gator hunter with S&M predilections, and certainly not Matthew McConaughey as a closeted homosexual with a preference for black lovers and a poor radar for dangerous situations. Neither did I expect Nicole Kidman as a Monroe-like waif with a dark side, who bit off more than she could chew.
And finally, I did not expect Macy Gray (the singer) in any capacity, but there you have the cast of The Paperboy. A graphic, disturbing movie - complex, and ambiguous.

It sounds like a lot of sex, but most of it was insinuated. It was the inescapable subtext of the story which is actually about a murder investigation conducted by the two sons of a newspaper owner (Efron and Mc Conaughey as Jack and Ward Jensen).
All of the characters exude sensuality and there is sexual tension between Charlotte (Kidman) and almost every man except Jack (Efron), who is smitten - infatuated with her. She is, ironically enough, both too much and not enough woman for him, and his heartbreak is not only on her account, but also because of the departure of his mother after his parents'divorce. Jack also has affection bordering on the erotic for his black housekeeper (played by Macy Gray) who is something of a doting and indulgent mother figure. Set all of this in the heat of South Florida in the sixties, and its no wonder that almost everyone ends up dead - but it's great intrigue getting there.