The Imposter
★★★★★
(2012)
Bart Layton's mesmerising documentary takes a seriously thrilling look the unbelievable true story of a French con man and the lie he pursued into oblivion. The tale of enigmatic sociopath Frédéric Bourdin and his deception of a small Texan family in the 90's made headlines all over the world after he posed as their 16 year old missing son 3 years and a half years after his disappearance.
13 year old Nicholas Barclay disappeared near his home in San Antonio in 1994. When his grieving family, stuck in emotional limbo over his whereabouts and well being for an unimaginable time, received a phone call from a police officer in Spain telling them their son was alive and in their custody, their relief and happiness was obviously uncontainable. Nicholas' sister flew to Spain ("Isn't that on the other side of the country?" she says on camera, perhaps mockingly, perhaps not) to return the traumatised boy to his ecstatic family. The 22 year old stranger had succeeded in fooling everyone.
Looking nothing like the young blonde all American boy, Bourdin invented tales of abuse, a kidnapping by military officials and covered his face with a scarf and his head with an always low baseball cap. The exhausted, grasping family seemed to ignore all of the signs that this man couldn't be their son or perhaps were they fooled, utterly convinced even, never prying into Nicholas' horrific ordeal, accepting what it was they wished and hoped was true.
The Imposter is a sheer marvel in documentary story telling. Layton's use of re-enactment and his skilled interviewing techniques make it seem, at times, like a breathless fictional thriller, his editing is inventive and deceptive and as Bourdin begins to uncover a second mystery under the suburban Texan community, the film shifts from the incredible to exceptional. Bourdin's interview is the films pivot point, heartbreaking and disturbing by equal measure, his untold story on par with the harrowing one he invents for Nicholas and far more cold, complex and composed than any imagined movie villain.
It's a rare wonderful piece of work, cloaked in darkness, superbly filmed and intelligently constructed. It turns your preconceptions over and over until you are totally lost, stuck in Bordain's lie with him. Adding to all of this it also hits you with a jaw-dropping finale and the most chilling and ambiguous minor chord concievable within the world of modern factual film making.
The Imposter is easily one of the best films of the year and absolutely unmissable.
