If someone were to just tell you the plot to The Imposter, odds are you’d have a hard time believing the story to be true. It sounds more like some crazy Hollywood thriller that eventually sees the whole family murdered in the end, and the “imposter” moving on to his next victims, leaving the door open for the inevitable sequel. But it is a true story, and it’s so well crafted for the screen that The Imposter is utterly compelling from start to finish.
Back in 1994, a 13 year-old Texan boy went missing and was never found. While the family never gave up hope, or stopped trying to find him in some fashion, eventually the case went cold and became less of a priority for authorities. Three and a half years later, the family received a phone call saying that their son, Nicholas, had been found – in southern Spain. Shocked, but overjoyed, Nicholas’ sister Carey goes to Spain on behalf of the family to pick him up and bring him home.
But what she doesn’t know – what nobody knows – is that the 16 year-old they found in Spain is not her brother, and that’s he’s actually not a teenager at all. The person claiming to be Nicholas is actually Frédéric Bourdin, a 23 year-old Frenchman with no real life of his own, who is trying to find his way in the world.
As it stands right now it may be hard to believe how the story even got to this point without someone blowing the whistle on it, but this is only the beginning. Director Bart Layton and Producers Dimitri Doganis and Poppy Dixon tell this story in an extremely captivating manner, truly giving the documentary a film-like thriller feel, which will keep audiences both completely engrossed and even, at times, on the edge of their seat.
Layton, Doganis and Dixon set the story up so that audiences know who Bourdin is, and that he’s lying about being Nicholas even before the call is made to the family in Texas notifying them that their son has been found. The introduction to the story is being told by Bourdin through beautifully shot interviews and recreations where he explains why he impersonated someone else, and how he never believed it would go as far as it did.
The thing is, Bourdin is an incredibly sympathetic character throughout most of the film. He’s someone who never had a childhood, and never felt the parental love that helps shape us as people while we grow. He truly is a lost soul trying to find his place in the world, and it’s easy to see that he never meant for his lies to actually hurt anyone.
The way the filmmakers pace the story is flawless. It’s so easy to understand how Bourdin gets away with all he does up until the point where he actually needs to come up with an identity. Once he does that, and the family is notified, it becomes a tense waiting game where Bourdin nervously anticipates Nicholas’ sister showing up and discovering he’s an imposter, while the audience does the same. The true shock comes when she shows up and embraces him as a brother finally found.
No more of the plot will be discussed, as it’s such an astonishing story from all fronts that it really must be seen. Layton shoots the film in such a unique way that one can’t help but be completely absorbed throughout. There’s never a sense of relief, as there’s always that underlying sense of uneasiness, and that something isn’t right. The way Dayton blends the interviews seamlessly into the recreated moments is really something, and it helps keep the story moving effortlessly for just over 90 minutes straight.
Even if you’re not a fan of documentaries, The Imposter isn’t to be missed. It’s so much more than just a documentary, and it truly has all the fixings of a true Hollywood thriller. It’s a story filled with so many twists and turns that it’s almost unbelievable. In short: The Imposter is a film you have to see to believe.
Both the audio and video transfer for The Imposter is fantastic, with the film looking crisp and sharp in both the interviews and the recreated scenes. There’s a truly uneasy vibe throughout with how well the colour tones resonate with the story, and it really helps add to the atmosphere overall. The audio is nice and clear, with beautifully recorded interviews intertwined with great sound mixes to help bring everything together.
Making The Imposter – Here’s a feature that runs at just over 40 minutes in length and is basically a documentary unto itself about how the film came to be. It’s beautifully shot, and also perfectly put together. Layton, Doganis and Dixon all talk about how the film was created, and how Dixon had to go down to Texas in an attempt to find the family and get them on board to film the documentary in the first place. This is a must-watch for fans of the documentary without question.
The Imposter is one of the most shocking, compelling and well-crafted documentaries of 2012. There will be multiple times when audiences will think they have everything understood, only to have the rug pulled out from beneath them moments later. As I’ve stated multiple times above, this is one that shouldn’t be missed.
A&E Indiefilms, Film4 and Channel4 Present The Imposter. Directed by: Bart Layton. Produced by Dimitri Doganis and Poppy Dixon. Starring: Frédéric Bourdin, Carey Gibson, Beverly Dollarhide, Bryan Gibson, Codey Gibson, Nancy Fisher, Charlie Parker. Running time: 99 minutes. Rating: R. Released: January 22, 2013. Available at Amazon.com.
