The MN Movie Man

Spoiler free reviews from a movie nerd with a heart of gold – Subscribe below for updates and follow me on Instagram: @themnmovieman

Main menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • About this Blog
  • Movies I’ve Seen
    • All the Reviews ~ A-Z
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2012
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2013
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2014
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2015
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2016
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2017
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2018
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2019
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2020
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2021
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2022
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2023
  • Awards Season
    • 2012
      • The Golden Globes – 1/15/12
      • The Academy Awards – 2/26/12
    • 2013
      • The Golden Globes – 1/13/13
      • SAG Awards – 1/27/13
      • Spirit Awards – 2/23/13
      • Academy Awards – 2/24/13
    • 2014
      • Golden Globes ~ 1/12/14
      • SAG Awards ~ 1/18/14
      • Spirit Awards ~ 3/1/14
      • Academy Awards – 3/2/14
    • 2015
      • Golden Globes ~ 1/11/15
      • SAG Awards ~ 1/25/15
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards ~ 2/21/15
      • Academy Awards ~ 2/22/15
    • 2016
      • Golden Globes – 1/10/2016
      • SAG Awards – 1/30/2016
      • Spirit Awards – 2/27/2016
      • Academy Awards – 2/28/2016
    • 2017
      • Golden Globes – 1/8/2017
      • SAG Awards – 1/29/2017
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/25/2017
      • Academy Awards – 2/26/2017
    • 2018
      • Golden Globes – 1/7/2018
      • SAG Awards – 1/21/2018
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/3/2018
      • Academy Awards – 3/4/2018
    • 2019
      • Golden Globes – 1/6/2019
      • SAG Awards – 1/27/2019
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/23/2019
      • Academy Awards – 2/24/2019
    • 2020
      • Golden Globes – 1/5/2020
      • SAG Awards – 1/19/2020
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/8/2020
      • Academy Awards – 2/9/2020
    • 2021
      • Golden Globes – 2/28/21
      • SAG Awards – 4/4/2021
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 4/22/21
      • Academy Awards – 4/25/21
    • 2022
      • SAG Awards – 2/27/22
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/6/22
      • British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) – 3/13/22
      • Guild Awards – DGA / PGA / WGA
      • Academy Awards – 3/27/22
    • 2023
      • Golden Globe Awards – 1/10/23
      • Critics Choice Awards – 1/15/23
      • Guild Awards – DGA / PGA / WGA
      • British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) – 2/19/23
      • SAG Awards – 2/26/23
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/4/23
      • Academy Awards – 3/12/23
  • Special Series
    • 31 Days to Scare – October 2012
    • 31 Days to Scare – October 2016
    • Bond-ed For Life – November 2012
  • Film Festivals
    • 56th Chicago International Film Festival
    • 2021 Tribeca Festival
    • 2021 AFI DOCS Film Fest
    • 2021 Bentonville Film Festival
    • The 25th Fantasia International Film Festival
    • Fantastic Fest 2021
    • Nashville Film Fest 2021
    • 57th Chicago International Film Festival
    • 2022 – SXSW Film Festival
    • 2022 Tribeca Festival
    • Fantastic Fest 2022
    • 2023 – SXSW FILM FESTIVAL
    • The 42nd Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF)

August 23, 2012

Movie Review ~ The Imposter

by Joe Movie Review • Tags: Bart Layton, Beverly Dollarhide, Bruce Perry, Bryan Gibson, Carey Gibson, Charlie Parker, Documentary, Frédéric Bourdin, logo, Nancy Fisher, Philip French, Studio, The Imposter, The Indomina Group, Trailer

The Facts:

Synopsis: A documentary centered on a young Frenchman who convinces a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who went missing for 3 years.

Stars: Frédéric Bourdin, Carey Gibson, Beverly Dollarhide, Charlie Parker

Director: Bart Layton

Rated: R

Running Length: 99 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score: (7/10)

Review:  When I was a child my favorite part of Readers Digest was the Drama in Real Life section.  Nearly all of them involved individuals that narrowly avoided injury or death at the hands of a various assortment of events.  The Imposter is a documentary that could be put into this Drama in Real Life category as it weaves it true-life tale of a grieving family of a missing child and the shady character that shows up claiming to be the long-lost boy.  Packing a wallop, the film represents the best kind of documentary in that it carefully pulls a switcheroo on its audience and before you know it you’re watching something you didn’t expect.

Sometimes it’s not the hockey-masked maniac terrorizing teenagers that scares me the most.  What frightens me is the lengths that some people will go to achieve a goal no matter who they hurt along the way.  It’s not a spoiler to reveal that the titular imposter is eventually discovered – and the film wouldn’t have worked half as well without letting the audience know right off the bat that fact.  More so, the imposter himself, Bourdin, is another narrator of the piece along with the family of the missing boy that he incredibly impersonates.

Watching the film, if you’re like me you’ve got to be wondering how an early 20’s dark haired Frenchman with a strong accent fooled not only the family of the blond hair, blue eyed, late teen…but through the interviews with the family it becomes easier to understand why they didn’t ask many questions.  The detailed story Bourdin weaves is one of torture and humiliation that would probably change anyone that goes through it.  Still…it’s a little concerning that even though Nicholas Barclay went missing in Texas but allegedly turned up in Spain that not even the FBI agent assigned to the case took a long enough pause to see the inconsistencies.

For all intent and purposes, this was just another missing person cold case but when Bourdin got involved it opens up the film to cover not only what made the man impersonate the boy but just what happened to Nicholas in the first place.  How this all shakes out is not something I’ll spoil for you but it’s a series of plot turns that I didn’t see coming.  In fact, it made me question everything I had seen so far in the film – making a second viewing a near requirement. 

The interviews with the imposter, family, and friends involved in the case are fascinating to watch as each seems to be telling a different tale.  Each point of view is unique and not quite in alignment with the others – creating a Rashomon style structure where you are never entirely sure who is telling the correct version.  Before the film is over, your loyalties may have shifted in flight as each new twist creates some shred of doubt in everything people are saying.

The only element I didn’t fully go with was the liberal use of dramatic reenactments to fill in the blanks of the story.  While I thought that some of the blending of the interviews with staged scenes was smart, more often than not the whole thing looked like an episode of Unsolved Mysteries.  Even so, these are filmed with a strong style and vision that is sadly absent in documentaries that are just a series of talking heads. 

The Imposter is a strong entry in the real-life crime documentaries that are growing increasingly popular.  Anchored by a too crazy to be true series of events and compelling interviewees it becomes a taut film that should send more than a few shivers up your spine.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...
August 23, 2012

The Silver Bullet ~ The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Joe Silver Bullet - Trailer Park • Tags: Dylan McDermott, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Johnny Simmons, Logan Ler­man, logo, Mae Whitman, Nina Dobrev, Stephen Chbosky, Studio, Summit Entertainment, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Trailer

Synopsis:  An introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world.

Release Date:  September 14, 2012

Thoughts:  The more movies I see about high school and teen angst the more I see that we are sadly in need of a voice like John Hughes was for teens in the 80’s.  No one really captured the freshman-senior spirit quite like Hughes and when he passed you got the feeling that a whole genre died with him.  The Perks of Being A Wallflower, however, may be a nice substitute with its strong source material and likable lead performers.  Emma Watson continues to separate herself from the Harry Potter world and instead of taking the Daniel Radcliffe route and doing the polar opposite of his beloved character, she’s taking nice steps to further her career in her own way.  It always concerns me when a novelist adapts their own material for the screen and sits in the director chair…but Stephen Chbosky might have a nice little hit on his hands if he plays his novel/script right.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Post navigation

Display Sidebar

Get your MN Movie Man Updates!

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

  • Movie Review ~ Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
  • Movie Review ~ The Boogeyman (2023)
  • Series Review ~ FUBAR
  • Movie Review ~ You Hurt My Feelings
  • Movie Review ~ Blood & Gold

Like me on Facebook!

Like me on Facebook!

Categories

  • 31 Days to Scare
  • Bond-ed For Life
  • Down from the Shelf
  • Mid-Day Mini
  • Movie Review
  • New To Blu
  • Note
  • Poll
  • Silver Bullet – Trailer Park
  • The Art of the Tease(rs)
  • Uncategorized
  • Why Haven't You Seen This Movie?

Blogroll

  • Alamo Drafthouse – Twin Cities
  • Blu-Ray.com
  • Brian Orndorf
  • Joe's Instagram Page
  • Joe's Twitter Page
  • The LAMB (Large Association of Movie Blogs)

From The Vault

The MN Movie Man – Pick a Date

August 2012
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jul   Sep »

Recent Comments

BruceP on Movie Review ~ Master Gardener
Elizabeth Biernacki on Movie Review ~ Book Club: The…
Alliance Lately: Iss… on Movie Review ~ From Black
MNFCA at the MSPIFF… on MSPIFF Review ~ Dreamin’…
Joe on Movie Review ~ John Wick: Chap…

Download
The MN Movie Man
Powered by WordPress.com.
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: