Sex, violence and racism are only the basic themes in director Lee Daniel’s latest film “The Paperboy.” He leaves his comfort zone by trading the contemporary urban setting from his drama, “Precious,” for the rural backdrop of South Florida in the 1960s.

However, don’t get too excited since each of these three themes is handled poorly in a story as messy as the movie’s murky swamps.

Adapted from the Peter Dexter novel, “The Paperboy” focuses on the two Jansen family siblings, paperboy Jack (Zac Efron) and Ward (Matthew McConaughey), as they investigate a case involving an alleged cop killer, Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack).

Ward’s writing partner, Yardley (David Oyelowo), and Hillary’s infatuated pen pal, Charlotte (Nicole Kidman), dig deeper toward the truth as their personal lives start to meddle with their investigation and their vices start catching up with them.

If there is anything that can come out of “The Paperboy” experience, it is that Daniels is a very competent director whose style is shown in full detail through its ‘60s-inspired grainy visuals and fast-paced editing. There are also some great performances from Kidman, Efron and Oyelowo, but sadly the script doesn’t do their acting any justice.

It’s impressive that Daniels and the script, by the book’s author, Peter Dexter, would crumble under its edgy subject matter by forgetting the investigation behind Hillary’s crime in favor of trashy sleaze.

Its flirtation with sexuality is horribly misguided with Charlotte’s telepathic sex scene with Hillary being played off as “intense.” In addition, Jack’s one intimate love scene is cut short in favor of another violent one with Hillary, and when one of the characters is revealed to be gay, he is not only treated horribly throughout the rest of the film, but is further humiliated for having odd fetishes.

Some moments in the film are outright laughable as Charlotte urinating on Jack is shown in all of its golden glory. The moment is then treated as an important subplot regarding the nature of the newspaper business. Even the topic of 1960s racism is shrugged off as Jack’s N-word outburst at Yardley merely gets a slap of the wrist once Anita forgives and Yardley forgets.

The main story doesn’t make up for any of this as the payoff to Hillary’s investigation is just tossed aside, making the newspaper business, the basis and motivation behind the plot, feel more like a subplot than the actual subplots. In a desperate bid to act like the investigation meant something, a climactic battle between the Jensons and Hillary is constructed in what can only be described as a copy of the ending in Spike Jonze’s “Adaptation.”

While “The Paperboy” has an impressive cast and exciting visuals from a director who knows how to breathe life into a film, the talent is sadly wasted on an abysmal script that meanders so far into its grit that it never manages to take itself back into the realm of logic.

It totes its “sexually and racially charged film noir” feel as something edgy and invigorating, but the sloppiness of its sexual and racial themes bogs down the mystery and detective work that should have been the central focus.

Sex and film noir have always been a perfect couple, so adding in racial themes should have added a new spin on the tension. Sadly Lee Daniels chose the wrong story to adapt and the threesome is less of a spicy gumbo and more like a toxic mystery food X.

Final Verdict: C-