95% The Imposter

All Critics (65) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (3)

Beverly Dollarhide, Nicholas's mother, says of the period after her son's disappearance, "My main goal in life at that time was not to think." Apparently, the filmmakers have taken a cue from her.

Layton's dazzling film is an exciting, edge-of-your-seat experience superior to any Hollywood mystery you're likely to see for a long time.

"The Imposter" becomes more than just a missing-persons drama. It hints at something much darker: a real-life horror story, the full truth of which may never be known.

This is one creepy mystery.

"The Imposter" initially seems to be a tutorial in identity theft, as well as a cautionary tale about the susceptibility of people who have lost a loved one. But that's not the half of it.

Layton's film joins the top ranks of nonfiction films because he recognizes that in this case no solution could be as engrossing as the questions.

You couldn't make this stuff up - and no one would buy it as fiction. But as a documentary, it's a different matter.

Layton may be making a sophisticated point about the elusive nature of truth but at the same time, it's a point made at the expense of the Barclays.

The year's most fascinating and frightening doc so far, The Imposter delves far beneath the hysterical tabloid headlines.

It's both preposterous and horrific, and therein lies its powerful, disquieting charm.

The real imposter here is the director.

A fascinating glimpse into the mind of a cunning con-man...and it's just as cunning as he was in constructing the story to hold our interest.

Trails off at the worst possible moment...its flaccid legal summary and closing visual manipulations are intentional, leaving audiences with a thoroughly sickening feeling to appreciate Bourdin's prolonged dance of narcissism.

A terrific tale of deception and self-deception, propelled by the presence of the smirking, cocky Barclay claimant, Fr?d?ric Bourdin.

The idea of "The Imposter" is more intriguing than the film's execution.

Keeps you unsettled, haunted, enthralled.

Everything about this story is unconvincing, except for the fact that it - or some version of it - happened.

The Imposter is one of those rare documentaries that, while its hard to know exactly how much is intensified for the purposes of making the film, is genuinely unsettling and infuriating to believe as fact and fiction.

Director Bart Layton owes a huge debt to Errol Morris, particularly "The Thin Blue Line," for his approach to this incredible story.

It's ... practically unbelievable, but you won't be able to look away.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_imposter_2012/

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