Errol Morris is no stranger to documenting characters that exist slightly off the beaten path or within a world of their own, but in his latest film “Tabloid,” the director may have found his most compelling figure to date. Drawing upon a story that made headlines nearly three decades ago, “Tabloid” is a fascinating look at the indefinable measure of truth, and uses the wildest story you’re likely to hear to drive home its point.
The film brings to life the Manacled Mormon case that ripped through the UK’s national headlines in the 1970s and if you’ve never heard of it, or have only read the brief Wikipedia entry which only tells the barest (and biased) outline of the case, Morris’ film will act as the most comprehensive account of the story yet. The bizarre story begins in Utah where the beautiful former Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney begins a relationship with Kirk Anderson and things move along very, very quickly. According to McKinney, on their first date Anderson said he loved her and on the second date, asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes, but before they could be officially married, McKinney says he simply vanished into thin air.
As it turns out, Anderson was a devout Mormon and went on a missionary trip to England. Heartbroken, McKinney moves to Los Angeles and works a variety of jobs to raise money for a private investigator, bodyguards and a pilot so they can go to England to rescue Anderson who she believes is being brainwashed by the Church Of Latter Day Saints. Upon finding out her intentions to more or less kidnap Anderson, some of her team bails, but with the assistance of Keith May, a friend who is seemingly obsessed with McKinney, she snatches her fiance and takes him to Devon. And it’s here where the story gets muddied. According to McKinney, Anderson came willingly but was so indoctrinated with shame surrounding sex, the only way she could liberate him and get him to relax was to chain him to a bed for what turned about to be three days of “food, fun and sex.” According to Anderson, he was kidnapped and raped. Of course, the story — a former beauty queen, a current Mormon, bondage sex — is perfect fodder for the tabloids and so begins an odd story that only gets even more bizarre with each new twist and turn.
Morris populates his documentary with first hand accounts from nearly everyone involved in the tale. Along with McKinney, we get testimony from Peter Tory, a columnist for the Daily Express who covered the story; Jackson Shaw, the hired pilot; Kent Gavin, photographer for the Daily Mirror who uncovers an even tawdrier angle on the story. And for those not up on the ins and outs of the Mormon church, Morris wisely gets former missionary Troy Williams to give religious context of the story which is equally intriguing and also totally out there.
The only person who refused to be interviewed for the film is Anderson himself, and while his story certainly would’ve made the film complete, his absence is hardly felt. Between the two sides — McKinney’s version and the tabloid version — is the truth, and even Anderson’s take on what happened to him in those three days in Devon could hardly have put a definitive stamp on what actually occurred. Each version is skewed by the intents of the purposes of the persons telling it and that’s where the fascination and awe for “Tabloid” resides.
Morris doesn’t reinvent the wheel here. The film employs standard interviews with animated montages and archival footage to tell the story, but the real star of the film is the story itself. Intoxicatingly entertaining and outrageously wild, a team of Hollywood’s top writers could never have dreamed up something like this. Met with applause and big, hearty laughs throughout our screening, the film is an easy lock for a deserved Best Documentary nomination. It’s certainly unlike any doc we’ve seen this year (or are likely to see), and the film easily ranks among Morris’ best. [A-]
