"The Imposter" a fascinating, moving documentary of deception
“The Imposter” is an affecting, gripping documentary about a
real-life imposter who took the identity of a missing Texas boy in 1994 and
actually fooled authorities for a few months. In 1994, thirteen-year old Nicholas
Barclay went missing in San Antonio, Texas after playing basketball near his
home with some friends. Then in 1997, he
supposedly reappeared in Spain, though in fact this was a twenty-three year old
French serial imposter named Frederic Bourdin, who, with dark hair and eyes,
didn’t resemble the blond hair, blue-eyed boy who had gone missing. Desiring a
new life and having the keen, smooth abilities of a con artist, Bourdin
convinced the family he was Nicholas, and lived with them for several months
before authorities discovered who he actually was with the help of DNA testing.
“The Imposter” is a compelling, often riveting documentary and sticks closely
to the facts of the story, resembling famed documentarian Errol Morris in
unraveling the dark details of this true life mystery that plays like something
you would only see in made-up movies. The chief flaws that hamper the film are
the second-rate recreations of the story from first-time director Bart Layton
and play like those TV documentaries. But the story itself is a fascinating
one, particularly Bourdin’s motivations to impersonate people, and the effects
of his deception on the family in particular and how devastating this can be.
Barclay is still missing, though a troubled family life may have had something
to do with that. Entertaining and often mesmerizing, “The Imposter” is really
two moving stories; one of a missing boy, the other of an impersonator, yet
both heartbreakingly real.
No comments:
Post a Comment