Dir. Errol Morris, USA 2010, Documentary. Dur. 88 mins
Interviewees: Joyce McKinney, Jackson Shaw, Peter Tory, Kent Gavin, Dr Hong
Review by Carlie Newman
This extraordinary and absolutely fascinating documentary has a plot so strange that one would think it unbelievable if it came out as a fictional movie! Joyce McKinney was a love-struck former beauty queen, who fell for Kirk Anderson (who refuses to be interviewed). When he seemingly rejected her and joined the Mormons, she devised a scheme, using her constant admirer, Keith Joseph May (who has since died, so can’t be interviewed) to go to England, where Anderson worked, abduct him and take him to her dream cottage in Cornwall.
The story then splits into two versions. Joyce’s, which we see her telling in the filmed interviews, relates how Anderson was kidnapped by the Mormons and taken to England against his will. After she rescued him, she says, the couple spent a kind of honeymoon having glorious sex. However, the tabloids, in particular the British ones, as we hear from Peter Tory who was then a reporter on the Daily Express, reported that Anderson was tied up and held against his will while Joyce effectively raped him. All agree on the fact that she was then arrested. She jumped bail but was never made to return. As can be imagined the British tabloids adored the story and Joyce was on the front page for many weeks.
Joyce tells her version in an amazingly imaginative style. There is a final bizarre extra when she pays an enormous amount to a South Korean doctor to have her dog, Booger, cloned so that the puppies are mini-Boogers! The whole film is directed by award-winning director, Morris in a tongue in cheek manner and is hilarious to watch. At times Joyce’s fantasy world is almost believable but with Morris’ editing we are unsure about what is true by the end. However, none of this matters, as the film is a truly comic affair. We wonder at the bizarre, convoluted story from start to finish. With plot twists involving sex, abduction, possible impotence and finally cloning – there is surely something here for everyone!
You May Also Like.......
Dir. David Krentz, Erik Nelson, USA, 2012, Dur. 83 mins.
Narrator: Werner Herzog
Review by Carlie Newman
If people come to this film expecting a big Werner Herzog input they will be disappointed. Herzog ...
READ MORE
Dir. Jean-Pierre Ameris, France/Belgium, 2010, 78 mins, in French with English subtitles
Cast: Benoît Poelvoorde, Isabelle Carré
Review by Carlie Newman
What a surprise! This charming little French film has arrived in London ...
READ MORE
Dir. Richard Press, USA/France, 2010, Dur. 84 mins.
Review by Carlie Newman
How pleasant it is to watch a well-crafted film about such an interesting character, and this one provides interest in ...
READ MORE
Dir. Jeff Nichols, USA, 2010, 121 mins
Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker, Tova Stewart
Review by Dee Pilgrim
There’s a terrific slow build to this quiet, thoughtful ...
READ MORE
Dir. Celine Danhier, USA, 2010, 94 mins
Review by Dave Hall
This documentary charts the explosion in independent filmmaking that bubbled up from the sump of downtown New Yorkin the late 1970s ...
READ MORE
Dir. David Wain, USA, 2012, 98 mins
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux
Review by Carlie Newman
There are two reasons to welcome this film: first Jennifer Aniston stars in ...
READ MORE
Dir. Alma Har’el, USA, 2011, 80 mins
Review by Carlie Newman
Har’el’s documentary gives us a good picture of some of the 100 people living in one of the poorest ...
READ MORE
Dir. Philip Seymour Hoffman , USA , 2010, 91 mins
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega
Review by Carol Allen
Jack Goes Boating is a beautifully made film about working class New Yorkers and their ...
READ MORE
Dir. Gus Van Sant , USA , 2011, 91 mins
Cast: Henry Hopper, Mia Wasikowska, Ryo Kase, Jane Adams,
Review by Carlie Newman
Gus Van Sant has made some really good film in the past, including a few ...
READ MORE
Dir. Eyad Zahra, USA, 2010, 83 mins
Cast: Bobby Naderi, Dominic Rains, Nav Mann, Noureen Dewulf, Volkan Eryman
Review by Eva Moravetz
When Michael Muhammad Knight’s novel The Taqwacores first appeared, it was ...
READ MORE
Dinotasia (PG) | Close-Up Film Review
Romantics Anonymous (12A) | Close-Up Film DVD Review
Bill Cunningham New York (12A) | Close-Up
Take Shelter (15) | Close-Up Film DVD Review
Blank City (n/c) | Close-Up Film Review
Wanderlust (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Bombay Beach | Close-Up Film Review
Jack Goes Boating (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Restless (PG) | Close-Up Film Review
The Taqwacores (15) | Close-Up Film Review
xx - posted on 23/05/2012 13:13:28
1 Trackback or Pingback
[...] Tabloid (15) | Close-Up Film Review Dir. Errol Morris, USA 2010, Documentary. Dur. Source: http://www.close-upfilm.com [...]