I couldn't agree less on you view that Joyce's conviction is contagious and convincing. It becomes increasingly clear that Mr. Morris wants to give you all the reason in the world to doubt just that. His use of the footage from old movies, for example, showing Celia Johnson seeing Trevor Howard off from a train platform in Brief Encounter to parallel McKinney’s story of seeing Anderson off, expecting to meet him in London to be married. Devices seem to be used for comic effect and to try to make a parallel between staged drama and McKinney’s real-life and largely self-created drama. We she refers to Anderson’s impotence (typed out in bold letters across the screen as she talks) at first, she says it’s like trying to “insert a marshmallow into a parking meter.” Her manic energy starts off charming and ends up making one want to bash one’s head against a wall; I imagine this is how the pretty, young Joyce had so many men running at her heels. The combination of pretty, sexy, and crazy is a potent aphrodisiac. It’s also extremely unpleasant to experience for any length of time, and despite Joyce’s apparent willingness to have anyone pay attention to her, consummate narcissist that she appears to be, the film borders on exploitation. I would say that this is beneath Mr. Morris except that after 'Fog of War' and 'Abu Ghraib ' I see this as part and parcel with his apparent direction in film making. I don't care much for it either.
