Wonderful character development!

The greatest movie ever made..!

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

You can never trust a tabloid to tell the truth. Often times the 'news' that are reported in them are skewed in such a way to boost sales, or are most often... down right wrong. Errol Morris cuts through the strange story of Joyce McKinney's lifetime of gossipy headlines in a series of interesting interviews in this documentary.I personally had never heard of the former Miss Wyoming, who broke headlines in the 1970's, when she and a few compatriots traveled to England after planning the abduction of a man involved in the Mormon religion. Kirk Anderson was a young man who met Joyce near Salt Lake City in the U.S some time before committing himself to his faith. There was some sort of love affair between the two, and even promises of marriage, kids and a life together. Then one day, quite suddenly and with no explanation, he leaves for England. I was quite saddened by the way she told this story, and it's pretty obvious how much she loved this man, and normally when a man runs off without saying goodbye, it's pretty understandable that the relationship is over. But not for Joyce. She wasn't taking no for an answer.The story that unfolds is pretty wild, but an absolute pleasure to watch. What makes it so interesting is the way Joyce tells the story, as the events get wilder and wilder, stranger and stranger until you have to ask yourself, 'Is this actually what happened?' She tells the story with an absolute certainty that it happened the way she tells it, and there are other interviewees that contribute to the wild tale that unfolds. However it's her personality that makes it really shine. She comes off as a happy, carefree kind of person. A real southern belle with a attitude of such nonchalance, that you can't help but smile when she describes some of the more, shall we say, illegal activities she committed.The film shows us how far some people are willing to go for desire, even to the point of unbelievable madness. There is a bit of a sweet seaway in the main story at the end, that actually shows her obsession very well, but I couldn't help but smile at how nuts she is... but in a nice way. Certainly a sad story, perplexing at times, and simply hilarious as well.7/10

Errol Morris has throughout his filmmaking career, found some interesting subjects. From the groundbreaking The Thin Blue Line (1988) - that actually produced evidence enough to release a man from death row, - to The Fog of War's (2003) view of modern American political history according to Robert McNamara (reviewed here by Tom previously). And with Tabloid, he has yet again discovered a story that defies belief.Joyce McKinney was former Miss Wyoming. She became a British tabloid darling in the late 1970's when she came over to the UK and kidnapped a young man, holding him hostage. The film tells the story of McKinney's various obsessions; she became obsessed with a young Mormon missionary, but his faith was compromised and, as far as Joyce was concerned, the Mormon church stole him away from her, taking him to England to restore his faith.The levels of obsession are exposed progressively throughout the film. Joyce's fixation on this one person who she claims to love unconditionally is actually quite sad. She states late on in the film that there is only one love, and she loves the Mormon, and will love no other. This stubborn focus on one love has seen through to her old age, as she fills this love with a dog. The obsession of one love is also propagated in her love of her dog, that once dead, she spends thousands of dollars to get it cloned in South Korea.As with all Morris documentaries, this is a little gem, and is never outwardly judgemental of it's subject matter. It is a tragic tale, and whilst it has been Joyce's own choice, her strong morals are quite touching. However, strip all sympathy aside, and she is simply mental!!www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Behind the adorable blonde hair and sweet, innocent-girl smile lies a checkered and intriguing past in Joyce McKinney's life. Errol Morris's Tabloid is one of the most mature documentaries I've ever witnessed. The documentarian who is known for making very deep and personal stories goes out of his way to shed light on a scandal that hasn't gotten much talk or publicity in recent years. But maybe that is for the best.In 1977, a young Mormon missionary named Kirk Anderson was abducted by an unknown woman from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ewell, Surrey. A few days later, he returned claiming he was kidnapped by a woman named Joyce McKinney, a young woman who was crowned Miss Wyoming, who attempted to seduce him and rape him while he lay bounded on a bed.McKinney was arrested, and the case was dubbed "The Mormon sex in chains case." It was shocking and absurd for the time period as well. Keep in mind that back in the 1970's, Mormonism was thought to be more of a strange cult than a religion. Society wasn't as accepting as today, and that's why people were so quick to jump over everyone involved.When conducting interviews with numerous people, Morris doesn't dare interrupt. It's a one-setting documentary involving Errol Morris's famous "Interrotron " method. The Interrotron is where Morris places a two way mirror in front of the camera so both parties can see each others faces. It's a way of pretending the camera doesn't exist or isn't really there. This method is used to try and get more out of the person and not have the eerie feeling of being filmed while discussing.But I don't believe Joyce McKinney or anyone else in the film really cares that they're being filmed. I think they're so flattered that they're finally telling their side of the story. Why did I call this "on of the most mature documentaries I've ever witnessed?" Because Morris doesn't incorporate any opinion or stance within the film. He doesn't even state if he believes the characters are telling the truth or not. He just wants each person to tell their side of the story the way they feel it should be told.It's also interesting to note that the music in the documentary is so radiant and so important to the storytelling in the film. Never do we really pay attention or notice the music in a documentary, but the tonality in Tabloid is depicted strongly throughout the background music. After all, the film doesn't move around too much. It's shot in a one-setting location against a gray backdrop with the characters talking one on one with the camera.We see montages from older films, reenactments of certain key events, and little animated tabloid pictures compiled into a creative montage to tell certain parts of the story. The film is titled "Tabloid" because Joyce McKinney began to develop into a popular figure publicized in magazines. So many stories were published about her that the truth became distorted. She states honestly and chillingly in the documentary "a person can tell a lie so many times that they believe it's true." You will definitely leave Tabloid confused and curious. We learned so much, but how much of it is true? We may never really know. I personally believe most everything brought to the table here, but then again, the lack of evidence on McKinney's part perplexes me. It is explained at the end where all the evidence went, but the believability is highly questionable.According to Former Missionary Troy Williams, the story of the Mormon sex in chains case has been brought to light in three scenarios. Scenario one he was chloroformed, tied up, raped, and forced to be the sex slave of McKinney. Otherwise known as Kirk's side of the story. Scenario two is Joyce McKinney's side of the story where she wanted Kirk to be "free" of the Mormon's ways. So she "rescued" him from the church and they planned to run off, have kids, and life a life of peace. Scenario three is a hybrid of the two. Where Joyce and Kirk planned a life together, but somewhere along the line he refused it and backed out.Joyce McKinney's last time in the light before this film was when she hired a Korean doctor to clone her own dog "Booger" after his death. McKinney even states in the film that she herself believes it strange that a person could go from someone who "kidnaps a Mormon man and uses him as a sex slave" to someone who hires a person to clone her own dog.McKinney now resides in the mountain ranges of North Carolina living a life of celibacy, solitude, and peace from the people and the press. Maybe that's for the best on both parts. Here we have a woman who has spent most of her life in the spotlight for such a shady case, maybe it's time to just let her rest.Tabloid is one of 2011's best documentaries, but the subject matter will have a lot of potential viewers looking the other way. Ignore the subject matter, just dive into the film hoping to see a very thought-provoking, well made, serious documentary made by a filmmaker who knows how to dish out a very personal story. The film's way of style and tonality is beautifully crafted, and erects one of the most shocking yet intriguing sex scandals in history.Starring: Joyce McKinney and Troy Williams. Directed by: Errol Morris.

Errol Morris's documentaries fall into two camps: a serious one ("Fog of War") and one of portraits of eccentric individuals dominated by their obsessions who often don't realise they've transgressed the invisible boundaries of what constitutes acceptable behaviour. "Tabloid" falls into the second category. The focus of Morris's scrutiny this time is Joyce McKinney, a former beauty queen who in 1977 became obsessed with a young man she met in Utah; the man, Kirk Anderson, began training as a missionary with the Church of Latter-Day Saints of Jesus Christ to escape her attentions and the Church sent him to England. McKinney pursued and kidnapped Anderson with the help of two men and imprisoned him in a cottage in southwestern England. The incident aroused (ahem) much interest throughout the UK with its combination of conservative religion and its strict morality as regards sexual relations, kidnapping and sexual bondage. McKinney was arrested and charged but managed to jump bail and escape back to the US. Although she and one of her accomplices were later arrested by the FBI, the English courts did not request her extradition and sentenced her to jail for a year. Two tabloid UK newspapers competed for sales with opposed views of McKinney's antics and background based on information and material obtained in often shady ways.McKinney is an entertaining and garrulous interviewee, bright and open to a fault. Her apparently guileless manner may well hide a calculating and shrewd mind intent on getting what she wants no matter what it takes or what obstacles are in her way. Morris' Interrotron technique of interviewing subjects, in which McKinney looks into the camera which projects her face's image onto a two-way mirror positioned in front of the lens of the camera facing Morris, and vice versa for Morris, ensures that viewers are hit with the full force of McKinney's bubbling and sometimes overpowering personality but it also means that Morris himself ends up too close to his subject to be able to show a more objective view of her personality and character and the wider meaning of the 1977 kidnapping and the UK tabloid press's involvement. Morris appears willing to be swept along by McKinney's version of what happened and her insistence that Anderson was being brainwashed by a cult but the veteran interviewer never presses or challenges her opinion and prejudices.Morris also interviews a former Mormon missionary who perhaps is the most objective and sane person in the whole film, and two journalists from the rival tabloids that salivated over McKinney and Anderson, each recounting the newspapers' wildly differing versions of the incident and of McKinney's character and defending their stories and research. Viewers see some of the conflicting opinions and views of two people in the British media towards the story: one is amused, the other is cynical and predatory. Unfortunately the two most significant male characters in the whole saga, Kirk Anderson and Keith Joseph May, are absent from the documentary: Anderson refused to be interviewed and May had already died, so any pretence at "balance" is precluded.The film's presentation milks the whole incident for laughs with insertions of tabloid-style title cards that introduce the interviewees and give something of the flavour of the news coverage of the time. Cartoons and cartoon montages help give a light-hearted and racy feel to the film. Towards the end, after the abduction and its consequences become history, the film slows down with the coverage of an unrelated incident that also attracted news attention: in 2008, when her pet dog died, McKinney had it cloned into a litter of puppies by researchers in South Korea.Though the film is entertaining and sympathetic towards its subject, it missed an opportunity to examine McKinney's upbringing in some detail, in particular the expectations and stereotypes she grew up with and absorbed which fed her beliefs about romantic love and marriage and encouraged her obsession with Anderson. In the end, these notions undid McKinney and derailed her life: she resolved never to love another man and became reclusive. That an obviously intelligent and resourceful woman with great drive and energy who lived for romance, marriage and a brood of many children gave up her dream completely is a tragedy that the film glosses over. Morris's attempt at investigating the media hysteria and celebrity worship surrounding McKinney's abduction of Anderson amounts to very little and says nothing about the kind of media culture that existed in the UK then and the social values that supported it. The best that "Tabloid" does is to show that the truth about the incident remains elusive and that people's memories of it can be wildly different for many reasons, of which self-preservation is the primary one.