Review of Tabloid (2011) by Jean-Francois V — 02 Apr 2012

"Tabloid" is the portrait and (more or less) life story of one Joyce McKinney, a Carolinian beauty queen who was accused of kidnapping her Mormon fiance in England, chaining him to a bed and raping him. The improbable story, together with its lifelong repercussions, is told mostly by McKinney herself, but some other major actors of the time (tabloid journalists) and even a former Mormon missionary turned homosexual activist intervene to give complementary, confirmatory or mostly contradictory perspectives on the events.

If you like films about weird loners (some of my own favorites include "Marwencol" and "In the Realms of the Unreal"), then you should enjoy this one. McKinney is quite a fascinating person, and distinguishing fact from fiction in what she and the other interviewees say will keep your brain entertained throughout. I did feel quite a connection to her, especially as she seems to have become religious over the years, and developed quite a bond with her dogs.

Since much of the attraction of the film lies in its zany unpredictability, I recommend avoiding reading too much about it beforehand.

The film contains nudity, several references to sexual perversions, and includes a description by McKinney of a very gory and disturbing event. (The version I saw was 72' long, but the film is described as 77' long, so I may have been spared some of the raunchier stuff.).