Tabloid

By the last quarter of this turgid, unremitting virtual-monologue, I was in fear of losing my own marbles -- Joyce having clearly lost hers long ago. Pointing a camera at someone and letting them damn themselves with their own deluded waffle is not my idea of effective film making. Completely lacking in visual impact, this "film" might as well have been done on radio.

The supporting cast of tabloid creeps interviewed herein are enough to make one's skin crawl. Exploiting a crazy lady is neither funny nor clever so quite why the guy from The Daily Mirror appeared to be so proud of his machinations is beyond me.

I'd hoped for some deeper insight. I didn't get any. Only denial and madness. On this showing the woman needed to be sectioned. Too late now though. Far too late.

A documentary on a former Miss Wyoming (Joyce Bernann McKinney) who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary (Kirk Anderson).

The film becomes the story: In November of 2011, Joyce McKinney filed a lawsuit against director Errol Morris. Filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, McKinney claims that Morris and his producer Mark Lipson told her they were filming for a TV documentary series about the paparazzi. McKinney is suing on the grounds that she was defamed as the film portrays her as "crazy, a sex offender, an S&M prostitute, and/or a rapist."

McKinney probably only helped the film with her lawsuit, if she had any effect at all. I do not feel they in any way defamed her, as they were merely reporting on the story and gave her ample time to give her version of events. A viewer is not left with any definite vision of who McKinney is or was.

Further, I am confused how she thought this was solely about the paparazzi. I understand that she talks of being hounded, but she also talks at length about the Mormon case, her cloned dog and any other thing. Even if this went on a TV program about paparazzi, they would have to explain to audiences who she was. So by cooperating -- regardless of the focus -- she was the one bringing herself back into the public light.

Even if you know all the lurid details about the Joyce McKinney sex in chains saga, it is still well worth it to listen to the protagonist tell her side of the story. It would have taken a lot of courage/narcissism for anyone to agree to be interviewed for a documentary after going through what Ms. McKinney went through, but what is even more astounding is just how self assured and confident she was throughout the interview.

Ms. McKinney acquitted herself well and leaves the viewer with a sense of her human frailties as she tells the story of her remarkable life. There are those who would condemn her or write her off as sick and demented -- and even in this documentary it is possible to see where these people are coming from -- but the film also presents another side of the woman, one who loved absolutely so much so that she thought nothing of cloning a dog she cared about.

There will probably never be another Joyce McKinney. If you wrote a movie script that was true to her life, it would probably be rejected as too far fetched and absurd. Watch this documentary and judge for yourself what sort of person Joyce McKinney is. I think that is all she would ask of you.

Greetings again from the darkness. Truth is often stranger than fiction. But what happens when the truth is elusive? Well "Tabloid" proves it doesn't matter ... strange is still strange! Superb documentarian Errol Morris serves up his most 'whacked out' profile yet.

Mr. Morris has described his work in documentary films as falling into one of two categories: 'Completely Whacked Out' and 'Politically Concerned'. The latter category includes his brilliant films "The Fog of War" and "The Thin Blue Line". The 'whacked' category includes "Fast, Cheap & Out of Control" and "Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A Leuchter". I highly recommend any and all of these.

This latest subject, Joyce McKinney, may not be immediately familiar to you. In 1977, she became infamous as the key player in the British tabloid storyline named "Case of the Manacled Mormon". She was accused of following a Mormon missionary to the U.K., kidnapping him, handcuffing him to a bed, and using him as her sex slave. To really understand the story, one must realize the lack of knowledge that the British press had towards the Mormon church at the time. They truly viewed it as a cult.

Ms. McKinney has never stopped her accusations that the Mormon leaders created a cult environment, and brain washed men and women alike. Her stance is a huge part of why her story, or stories, are impossible to take seriously. Her story is that she and Kirk Anderson fell in love and the church forced them apart by shipping Anderson off on a missionary trip to England. Mr. Anderson has refused all interview requests since his release, but he claimed he requested the trip to escape the obsessive clutches of Joyce.

The amazing thing that I noticed while watching this film is that I didn't care about the truth. Even the filmmaker, Mr. Morris, doesn't seem to care about the truth. The fascination is with the personality of the enigmatic Joyce McKinney. Her direct interviews are mesmerizing. When she states "a person can tell a lie so many times that they believe it's true", we have to laugh outloud. Her stories are so convoluted, yet told with such conviction.

I certainly don't wish to spoil the entertainment value afforded by her first person story telling, so I will concentrate on the presentation by Mr. Morris. He seems to really enjoy the tabloid approach and uses graphics and imagery to add detail and structure. His use of the score is highly effective and quite unusual for a documentary. He provides the stage for this former Miss Wyoming to perform. And perform she does!

For comparison purposes, I have nothing. My first thought was a train wreck. Then a circus side show. Neither of those do justice to this unique story of a most unusual woman presented by a visionary filmmaker. All I can say is, you must see it to believe it ... or not.

Trust me. Watch this movie. Grab some popcorn and get ready for a good time.