Acclaimed pioneer and filmic innovator, Errol Morris revolutionized the documentary filmmaking process in the early 80’s.

Contrary to criticism, and he’s had his fair share, Morris has thus far surmounted a treasure trove of accolades, including five fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts; several renowned publications citing him on top 10 Most Important Filmmakers in the World lists.

A full retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the converted Academy Award for Best Documentary, in recognition for his controversial film The Fog Of War (2003), an expóse of former Secretary of State Robert S. McNamara. In 1988 his groundbreaking film A Thin Blue Line introduced Morris as a force to be reckoned with, when his background in private investigating paid off, resulting in the release of a condemned man on death row.

Morris’ Hollywood-esque dramatic recreations, atmospheric scores and methodically choreographed camera angles rejected the fly-on-the-wall status quo. This unique slant drove Morris to the forefront, paving the way for alternative modes of documentary filmmaking.

Notorious for expanding any trace of himself from his films, although on rare occasion unavoidable, we at IDOL were delighted to finally see the man himself at the BAFTA David Lean Lecture.

Charismatic and sharp witted Morris’ off centered humor and skeptic viewpoint rang throughout. Enormously influenced by David Leans Breaking the Sound Barrier, when asked why documentaries? Morris reveals, “there’s something bottomless about reality… you never know the outcome or what to expect”.

Morris declares truth as his central motivation and goal, albeit an elusive one. His fascination with self-deception and exposing this mechanism was acutely evident in his latest venture into “…the garden of diverse forms…” in Tabloid (2011).

The film opens on an angelic young woman adorned in white cotton. Her soft, silky voice relays a story of a prince. Ironically this angelic angel-like creature is revealed to be Joyce McKinney, an American beauty queen from Utah, who became the focus of a tabloid circus in seventies Britain, having been arrested for the kidnap and rape of her Mormon boyfriend.

As the film progresses it becomes clear there are many sides to this story, but McKinney’s appears the most fictitious. A tale of love, devotion, and battles to free her “prince” from the chains of cult brainwashing, though in polar opposite of the other oddball contributors.

Painting herself as having once been a coy and inexperienced virginal young woman, the revelation by the press of her sexual antics and bondage pornography, exemplifies Morris’ curiosity for the stranger-than-fiction.

Tabloid personifies the nature of an obsessive culture, consuming facts and regurgitating them for the public spectacle. The most disconcerting thought is this media machine took a borderline psycho and made her one of the biggest celebrities of her time. An even more disconcerting thought… we love it.

TABLOID IS OUT ON DVD NOW - FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

Written by Ebele Tate
Images courtesy of Dogwoof