Review of The Imposter (2012) by Colm M — 06 Sep 2012

Frédéric Bourdin is neither blonde nor American, blue eyed or sixteen, yet the twenty-three year old half-Algerian French man convinced a Texas family he was their blonde haired blue eyed sixteen year old son missing for three years. He even managed to convince the US government who provided him a passport and allowed the twenty-three year old to live out his American dream of attending hi-school. Why were the family so blind? Was it desperation or something more sinister? 'The Imposter' raises these questions but never delves deep enough into them, never asks the subjects the questions we want to ask. It's an amazing true story and delivers on entertainment but fails to reveal anything new about the fascinating tale of Frederic and the Barclay family.

Using interviews with the people involved as well as reconstructions Director Layton threads the line between documentary and reconstruction. This may work with thirty minute television shows but over the running time of a film the reconstructions detract from the honesty of the story we're seeing. Mixing this with talking heads of real accounts is a distraction and isn't always necessary. Perhaps there just wasn't enough in the real content, too many relatives not wanting to talk or police declining to be seen on film, but the reconstructions act only to extend the running time and add no dramatic purpose.

This is a well told story, albeit one that never delves as deep as it really should, beautifully shot and about a subject that will fascinate us all. Definite TV entertainment but perhaps not fully worthy of your cinema cash.