Very disappointing...

The Age of Commercialism

not horrible nor great

Better than most people think

How well do you know your loved ones? If you were separated for several years, would you recognize them instantly? In the case of the Barclay family, they thought, they knew their own missing child, Nicolas, only to find out that that something about his return is not quite right. Without spoiling too much of the twist for you in this review; I felt that 'the Imposter' could had done the same. Not spoil it all for the audience. They should had left some suspense about the return of so-called 'Nicolas'. However, the documentary directed by Bart Layton felt to spill all the beans about the audacious fraud, a little too early for my taste. 3 minutes in. It ruin any build any suspense that this 'Nicolas', was not the real Nicolas. Instead, the central focus of the documentary, is if the family knew, deep down that the person that they brought back to their home, was not their son, or not? After all, how in the world, did this family not recognize that the person portraying the Texan native, had a thin French accent, and didn't have any of the right facial features of the boy, but of, an adult man!? Even, the family doctor did not think the child was Nicolas. It seems so obvious! Yet, the family accept this person into their home. Are they that clueless or were they were so grief-stricken that they willing to take anybody to replace him? Or- as the imposter, Frédéric Bourdin alleges himself, to hide the fact that the family murder the boy. These suspicions questions about the family come to dominate, most of the film; as the documentary really does want you to suspect them, despite the police reports, saying the family was not in fault of Nicolas disappearance. This force direction by Layton really does seem its walking a tightrope in terms of the ethical standards when it comes to journalism. Why? The documentary's direction felt like an all over the place unfocused scapegoat interrogation type piece, rather than a keen open discussion on how the imposter was able to nearly get away with his crimes. Don't get me wrong, maybe, the family shouldn't come out of this, without some criticized. After all, following the boy's disappearance, the police were called to their home on multiple occasions. Most of the calls were due to fights between the parents, whose relationship grew volatile to the stress of looking for Nicholas. Regardless of that, the twists and turns through exploitative dramatization should focus on the imposter, rather than the family. After all, the movie barely scratch the surface on who Borden, truly is. Much of his mysterious past & his identity crimes after the Barclay case, remain untold. The film doesn't even show how he supposedly finally found love & happiness through other means, like falling in love with a woman and raising kids. I guess the film doesn't want us to feel too sympathy to this creepy guy. No wonder, why Borden hate this movie. As for the documentary treatment of the law enforcements in Spain & United States who mistake Borden for Nicolas. The officials also felt like they not accurately portrayed. Nearly all their quotes is taken out of context, quote-mined, or deceptively edited, in order to make them, look more clueless than they were, in real-life. It's highly extremely manipulative and kinda off-putting. Look, I get that, the film is about deception and self-deception. So, I get, where Layton was going for, with pulling the viewer, into the feeling of being fool by an unreliable narrator. However, there is no place for gimmicks like that. This isn't a fictional retelling like 2010's crime drama movie, the Chameleon'. This is a documentary film. Thus, it is expected to adhere to reasonable standards of journalistic integrity by presenting facts & research to back, certain claims up, in order to allowed people to decide for themselves. Despite that, the movie is well-shot. Every subject in the story is shot in a normal interview style, but looking off frame at somebody else. Except for the imposter, who is up to our face! Close up. Blur! With his sociopath's charm, Bourdin is utterly creepy. Seeing his words come from the lookalike actor, Adam O'Brian playing him in a reenactment was equally as disturbing. Those vocal crossovers parts are well done. The sequences including the slow-motion, dropped-out sound & time-lapse photography technique are also very smooth. Even the music by composer, Anne Nikitin & the London Symphony Orchestra work well with the piece. It capture the scope of the drama. Overall: If recommending this movie to somebody, could had help find Nicolas Barclay. I gladly promote it, even if I felt this documentary could had been a little bit better. As of this date, he still missing. It's been many years since his disappearance. I hope, that he is found alive, one day. Until then, films like this, will have to continue to shine, in order to keep the case active. While, 'the Imposter' has many flaws, this film is still worth searching for. I highly recommended seeing it.

Short and Simple Review by WubsTheFadgerWord of Warning: I would recommend going into this film completely blind. Watching this film with no information about it is the best way to see it.The story is extremely gripping. This documentary/mystery film is full of twists, real life sadness, and a powerful story. It leaves you with many unanswered questions, but does so in a way that leaves you tingling in contemplation. The plot can be disturbing to some and at times it can be quite scary.The acting and storytelling is fluent. Most of the acting is done by people who had first hand accounts of the real life story. Some of the acting is reenacted which brings some depth and suspense to the story. The twist is very unexpected and it is deal with care.The tone throughout the film is very dark. There are moments that send chills down your spine. The pacing is okay but there are parts in the film that seemed out of place. In the beginning, I found myself getting lost in all the things that were going on.Pros: Great story, amazing twist, unanswered questions, powerful storytelling, consistent tone, and strong first hand accounts in regard to the storyCons: Okay pacing and some moments that were a bit confusingOverall Rating: 8.2P.S. If you enjoyed this film, you might also enjoy Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008). It is a documentary film that has the same mix of drama and crime.

This is one of those flicks that I think I have seen before or rather tried to watch before but could not finish it. Well, it happened again. For the life of me I cannot fathom how these people fell for this fraud. I really don't. It is not like Six Degrees of Separation. It is not like the whole town did not know what Nicholas looked like. I don't care what kind of sex slave you were, your eyes do not change from blue to brown and you don't end up with a French accent having been abducted to Spain either.As for the real Nicholas, why does a 13-year-old have so many tattoes and how in less than 24 hours, did the impostor get them made to match with no scarring or anything by the time the sister arrived? And the sister said he had said kiss my ass to the family and run away for a day or two several times before - a little kid?I don't know. I just don't know. But I cannot finish the movie. IT hurts too much to see the family falling for this guy.

And part thriller also. Plus a bit of fiction or at least acting. I didn't research the film, just watched a bit of the documentary of the documentary on the disc I have, but it looks like this case really existed. Whatever the case, they had to cast someone for the "main role" obviously, who'd say the words that the real person had given the filmmakers in interviews.A really fascinating view and an amazing story (no matter how real it is). It kind of reminded me of this other "documentary" I watched and liked (Exit through the gift shop), though this seems to be genuine as I said. Watch and be amazed by it, either the thrilling part of it or the "funny" moments that occur.