By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.4
Director: Errol Morris
Country: united_states
Year: 2011
Running time: 87
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1704619/
Chris says: “After watching TABLOID, you wonder why it took so long for someone to make a film about Joyce McKinney. Her fascinating, stranger-than-fiction life story aside, she just blooms in front of the camera without giving off the pretense of putting on a show. A natural storyteller dripping with southern charm, she’s immensely likable even when she comes off as delusional, a chatterbox, a gossip or an all-out nutjob.
“An ex-beauty queen with an I.Q. of (supposedly) 160, she became tabloid fodder in late ’70s England after being accused of tracking down her estranged boyfriend (a Mormon), kidnapping him, shackling him to a bed and raping him. McKinney’s account dominates, but we additionally hear from not only one of her accomplices, but also a UK tabloid that bought her tale and a competing tabloid that pieced together a contradictory story. In the end, what actually happened is likely somewhere in between all of these versions (Mark Lipson, the film’s co-producer refers to it as a ‘Looney Tunes Rashomon’). I didn’t fully believe McKinney’s take but I couldn’t entirely discredit her either, and the film gets much of its philosophical weight and
entertainment value out of this conundrum.
“Actually, we do see a few film clips of McKinney from not long after the scandal, but it’s a blatant vanity piece as she appears on
horseback, the camera lens smeared with vaseline while she attempts to tell (waves her hair) ‘my story’. Thankfully, Errol Morris is absolutely the right filmmaker for the job. Returning to the type of quirky human interest studies he all but abandoned over the past decade, he playfully but shrewdly peppers the screen with word graphics (one of the best is ‘spread eagled’) to satirize and enhance the story’s sensational nature.
“In a way, McKinney could be Morris’ quintessential subject: an eccentric but driven individual whose take on human nature is decidedly different but not necessarily destructive. Morris also has a wealth of material to draw upon, for not only does he present and dissect the case of the ‘manacled Mormon’, as an added treat, he shows us what McKinney’s been up to recently. Let’s just say it has made her tabloid fodder once again, and it ends TABLOID on a giddy, gleefully over-the-top high note. 5 cats”
Thom says: “This film was indeed delightfully entertaining but it lacked an objective focus which finally detracted from its imprint. The true story is about Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming, who in 1977 long with a besotted friend went to England and kidnapped a Mormon missionary, manacled him to a bed and used him as her sex slave. She had been obsessed with him back in the U.S. but she claims that the Mormons sent him to the U.K. to get him away from her as she didn’t fit
into their idea of a Mormon wife. The slave is eventually released and she claims that they should have remained together. But she’s caught, thrown in jail, is released on bail, flees the country, and is never actually tried. Nonetheless, she’s spent much of the rest of her life obsessing over her lost love. How she has supported herself all these years, including spending a small fortune on cloning her dog in South Korea, is really unclear although a lot of possibilities are raised. There are interviews with UK reporters, an ‘objective’ former Mormon, and others involved with the case. But my strong objection is that the film ends up with many more questions to be answered than is appropriate for a realistic documentary. From the evidence given there is absolutely nothing about the kidnap victim that give us an understanding of why anyone would obsess over him. Since he’s never interviewed we’re left to ponder. I think a documentary film maker needs to probe deeper. 4 cats”
Diane says: “TABLOID is often hilarious, especially the middle section in which two journalists (??) from competing British tabloids tell their versions of Joyce McKinney’s 35-year-old scandal. It is fine to see how these men relish their jobs. In my audience, most of the laughter was from the women. Were we so delighted with the role
reversals? (A woman shackling a man to the bed–against his will.)
“Also hilarious-if you’re not too stunned–are the unexpected turns in this doc. As they say, you couldn’t make this stuff up. Kudos to the researchers that came up with the witty stock footage. On the negative side, I was more interested in seeing how the tabloids work and measure success, than in Morris’ primary focus: McKinney’s whole life story. And as soon as Morris’ signature blackouts started, I became annoyed. 4 cats. Maybe 3.”
Toni says: “Chris, thanks for posting this before I could summarize my thoughts on this film :).
“The same spark that made me think, gee, documentaries aren’t all dull Ken Burns style from my first viewing of FAST CHEAP AND OUT OF CONTROL is back with TABLOID. It is humorous and entertaining as we in the audience become obsessed with an obsessed woman and the men obsessed with her and her obsession. This is definitely 5 cats to me as well.”
In response to Thom: “Interesting closing point…I hadn’t thought about the motive since the doc was more about the madness of those obsessed with him and with Joyce…I liked the mystery of it.
“However, you could have a separate film from his perspective. I wonder if there were access issues to him or if Errol did not want to include him in the story for a reason as listed above.”
Scot responds: “From what I read, the victim/boyfriend has never spoken publicly about the kidnaping/tryst. I don’t believe there’s any material for Morris to probe there.”