On June, 13, 1994, Nicolas Barclay went missing. Last seen playing basketball with his friends in San Antonio, Texas. There was no word of his whereabouts for days, weeks, months, years until it was assumed he would be missing forever, the search having long since died out. Then the incredible happened. He was discovered in Linares, Spain.
Or was he? The Nicolas that went missing 3 years earlier had had blue eyes not brown and the new Nicolas had a french accent? This new Nicolas was actually Frederic Bourdin a 22 year old French-Algerian, with an addiction to and talent for deceit and fraud. Nevertheless he managed to fool the Barclay family, US embassy officials, the FBI and most of America, if not the world, into believing that he was indeed Nicolas Barclay. But one man had his doubts. A charismatic Texan private eye, Charlie Parker, originally hired to track down Nicolas for an interview with a local media company, noticed an irregularity between the two Nicolas's ears, which eventually lead to Frederic's discovery and arrest.
This captivating and chilling story is beautifully explored by the director Bart Layton. He blurs the boundaries between a documentary and blockbuster. Even though Layton allows you to be aware that Frederic is not the real Nicholas Barclay from the outset, he teasingly feeds you fragments of the story piece by piece from the perspectives of the family members, the officials and Frederic himself. The product is a gripping thriller, heightened by the knowledge that it is a true story and by the mesmerising stylised cinematography, including some eery moving portraits of the family members accepting an obvious stranger into their home. This is just one of the many striking images in this film that will stay with me for a long time.
Provoking questions about identity, human nature, society and national security, the Imposter our keeps you eager with anticipation while you bathe in the beauty of the images crafted by Layton. It's a brilliant film - one of the best thrillers, let alone documentaries, I have seen.
Or was he? The Nicolas that went missing 3 years earlier had had blue eyes not brown and the new Nicolas had a french accent? This new Nicolas was actually Frederic Bourdin a 22 year old French-Algerian, with an addiction to and talent for deceit and fraud. Nevertheless he managed to fool the Barclay family, US embassy officials, the FBI and most of America, if not the world, into believing that he was indeed Nicolas Barclay. But one man had his doubts. A charismatic Texan private eye, Charlie Parker, originally hired to track down Nicolas for an interview with a local media company, noticed an irregularity between the two Nicolas's ears, which eventually lead to Frederic's discovery and arrest.
This captivating and chilling story is beautifully explored by the director Bart Layton. He blurs the boundaries between a documentary and blockbuster. Even though Layton allows you to be aware that Frederic is not the real Nicholas Barclay from the outset, he teasingly feeds you fragments of the story piece by piece from the perspectives of the family members, the officials and Frederic himself. The product is a gripping thriller, heightened by the knowledge that it is a true story and by the mesmerising stylised cinematography, including some eery moving portraits of the family members accepting an obvious stranger into their home. This is just one of the many striking images in this film that will stay with me for a long time.
Provoking questions about identity, human nature, society and national security, the Imposter our keeps you eager with anticipation while you bathe in the beauty of the images crafted by Layton. It's a brilliant film - one of the best thrillers, let alone documentaries, I have seen.