Review of The Imposter (2012) by Philip P — 22 Jan 2013

Though some of this plays out like an episode of 48 Hours or a handful of other investigative shows this documentary is ultimately worth checking out for the downright structure it has to it that mirrors a great mystery thriller.

Just when we think we know where the story is heading we are clued in to another development that has us wanting to rewind to the beginning of the film and watch it over in hopes of picking up on these details earlier.

It is a fascinating true story that is best taken in when going in without knowledge of what exactly it's about. That is how I experienced it, simply on word of mouth and a quick synopsis that informed me the basis of the plot.

That 13 year-old Nicholas disappeared from San Antonio, Texas and three years later was found alive, thousands of miles away in Spain. The mystery lies in that not all seems right with the boy when he returns home to his family.

It is already a strange case, how did the boy end up so far away? What happened in the three years he was gone? It is all very absorbing and the way in which director Bart Layton has chosen to feed us the story is even more interesting in that it gives us an unfiltered glimpse into the mind behind this entire thing.

I won't say more than that as I would hate to spoil any details, but the film is certainly worth checking out for a wonderful piece of mystery as well as an interesting trip through the human mind and how the psychology of some people can be so far removed from that of the happy medium.