The Imposter

THE IMPOSTER

Director : Bart Layton

Year : 2012

Genre : Documentary

Rating: ****

2012 was a fantastic year for documentaries. With such genre defining films such as 'Into The Abyss', 'Searching For Sugar Man' 'Marley' and 'You've Been Trumped', last year provided us with some of the most interesting, thought - provoking and downright infuriating documentaries ever made. 'The Imposter' is no exception and while it is not as anger inducing as 'You've Been Trumped' or as shocking as Werner Herzog's explosive 'Into The Abyss', 'The Imposter' still manages to be completely engrossing and riveting, while at the same time is able to tell an unbelievable story that seems almost too convoluted to be true.

'The Imposter' tells the incredible true story of Frederic Bourdin, a French confidence who successfully managed to fake his way into the USA by stealing the identity of Nicholas Barclay, a missing Texan child in 1994. Despite not looking or sounding anything like Barclay, Bourdin was able to lie his way out of Spain, illegally enter the States and integrate himself into Nicholas' family. As the movie progresses however, it becomes clear that the Barclay's took Bourdin in so readily because they actually had something to hide and that they may have something to do with Nicholas' true fate. Told with interviews with both Bourdin and the Barclay family, 'The Imposter' chronologically and methodically traces both Bourdin's thoughts and actions while reconstructions tell the story visually.

'The Imposter' is Bart Layton's directorial debut having written and filmed television documentaries and while clearly cinematic, the film does have the air of a television docu-drama due to the large amounts of reconstructions and the clean, crisp production values. While not a fault with the material in the movie, the televisual aesthetics can be distracting and if not for the near two hour running time, 'The Imposter'  can seem at times like a television documentary, which could have been potentially stretched over several TV episodes. However, the main reason why 'The Imposter' is clearly made for a cinema audience is the unbelievable narrative and plot, which is as shocking as any Agatha Christie novel.

The story of 'The Imposter' is one of the most intensely engrossing I have ever seen on film. From Bourdin's incredible ability to seemingly steal the identity of someone, to the shocking and horrible revelations about Nicholas Barclays true fate, the film tells the tale in very broad and simple strokes as not to confuse the audience or lose the credibilty of the convoluted plot itself. Narratively, the movie is very conventional and linear, making it easy for us to follow the thread of the story without ever losing character motivation, plot developments or revelations, which is key in a movie which has so many twists and turns. Unlike many other documentaries, which narratively seem to believe that the audience knows all there is to know about the storyline before the film has begun, leaving out exposition and minor, but important developments in both character and plot. While well known to some, many people will not know of Frederic Bourdin and instead of jumping straight in to the main Barclay family storyline, 'The Imposter' takes the time to explore Bourdin's childhood and past, tracing the possible roots of his desire to become someone else and how he decided that Nicholas Barclay's identity was the one he should take for himself. In doing this, Layton allows us to get to know Bourdin well and while not condoning his actions, the director shows us that Frederic had his own personal reasons for this and somehow makes us understand Bourdin, but not necessarily agree with him at the same time.

Clearly, Frederic Bourdin is someone who cannot be trusted and the way in which he is seemingly able to illegally enter the States, as well as tricking a distraught family into believing that he is their long, lost son shows us that Bourdin doesn't care about anyone else's welfare or emotions, just his own. . As the film started and developed, the more I despised Bourdin. He was abusing and toying with the emotions of a grieving, searching mother and a sister who desperately wants to hold her little brother again without any scruples or forethought. To me, any caring or decent human being would leave the family of a missing child alone in peace. Clearly, Bourdin is not a caring or decent human being and only deserves the inevitable extradition and punishments he earned. While he is obviously the as it were 'villain' of the piece, the amount of time that Layton keeps Bourdin on the screen, either visually or audibly, makes it seem that the director wants us to perversely admire what Bourdin did and that his story is one that should definetly be told. While shocking and disreputable, 'The Imposter' shows us that Frederic Bourdin is one of the cleverest, most deceitful and emotionless men ever to walk the Earth whose strange tale deserves to be told to as many people as possible. 

While completely engrossing and engaging, 'The Imposter' is not perfect. The reconstructions of Bourdin's actions give the film a 'Crimewatch' feel that adds to the televisual aesthetics and the Barclay family isn't explored enough for my liking. The ending, while not confirming any of the allegations against the Barclays, seems to show how dboth the filmmakers and Bourdin himself feels about the apparent crimes commited and this does make 'The Imposter' feel very one sided; admiring Bourdin and demonising the Barclays. To me, the opposite should be true, and the Barclays should be seen to be innocent until proven guilty. However, despite these problems, 'The Imposter' is well worth seeing. At the 2013 BAFTA awards ceremony, Bart Layton was awarded the gong for 'Outstanding Debut From A British Director' as well as being nominated for a handful of other awards. It was shortlisted for an Academy Award for best documentary and became the 4th highest grossing documentary in British cinema history. I am glad to see that in the days of of god - awful Michael Bay popcorn fodder and tiresome bum - numbing money squeezing blockbusters, some filmmakers are still keen to provide quality entertainment and gripping storylines, without having to debase themselves to boring conventional plots an eye watering CGI. For those who love documentaries or simply well made and honest films, make sure to check out 'The Imposter'. You will be gripped, amazed and infuriated in equal measure.

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