Continuing out series of writers highlighting unfairly criticised films is a defence of Lee Daniels’ starry and steamy noirTo begin, a confession of professional negligence: I wasn’t at the now-notorious first Cannes press screening of Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy, where critics booed and bayed for blood with a vigour and volume exceptional even at a festival famed for feisty audience participation.
Instead, having overslept and woken with a customary rosé hangover, I dragged myself to the rather more serene and less-attended catchup screening next door, which traditionally starts half an hour later.
Perhaps it’s a false memory, but I could swear I recall hearing a general tremor of discontent from outside early into the show.Related: Hear me out: why Tomorrowland isn’t a bad movie
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