The Imposter (2012) Dir: Bart Layton – Channel 4 22/8/13

The Imposter is the most intriguing tale of a Frenchman who convinces a Texan family that he is their 16 year old missing son. Frederic Bourdin is a sociopathic conman who takes on the identity of Nicholas Barkley who went missing in 1994 in Texas while returning home from playing basketball. Three years later the family are informed that their son has turned up in Spain. Bourdin convinces the authorities who grant him an American passport on the most tenuous evidence after he spins a tale of being kidnapped by a child paedophile ring . Bourdin realises when a photo of Nicholas Barkley is sent over to Spain that he looks nothing like the child. Bourdin is dark haired with brown eyes and Nicholas had blonde hair and blue eyes. Bourdin is 23 and Nicholas would have been 16. That’s what makes it so inconceivable that everyone including his mother accepted him. Were they so desperate to believe that their son had finally been found that they could set aside the evidence that this man clearly was not their son. This ‘Nicholas” appeared on TV retelling the horrific tale of his kidnapping and ritual rape by his captors. However after a Texan private investigator decides that all is not as it seems, the cracks begin to show in Bourdin’s story. The third act of this tale is so captivating that I’m not going to give any spoilers away. British director Layton combines interviews with all the key players with dramatic re-enactments to create a movie that offers theory and truth. It will leave you thinking about it for many days to come.

Reality Bites – Reviewing documentaries and intriguing reality TV – By LAW