The Imposter

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Nicolas Barclay

In 1994... thirteen year old Nicolas Barclay disappeared from San Antonio, Texas. Three years and four months later, he was found in Spain. 

"This is about a French con artist who convinces a family in Texas that he is their long-missing son - despite having dark hair, the wrong eye color, and a thick French accent. So why would the family insist he is their son? The twisting ending to this is totally insane." 

The con-artist impersonating Nicolas wanted to be someone else. He felt he was never loved, never respected, and he wasn't living the life he wanted to truly live. He had to act like someone else. He had to convince everyone that he was a kid. Nicolas-impersonator was wearing a big coat in younger clothes, hat lowering his eyes, didn't speak much, and was quiet enough to make others wonder about his story. All he wanted was to be was to be sent to a children's home and to be born again. He wanted to start a new life. But he got more than he bargained for. The Nicolas-impersonator fell into a series of lies on top of lies that brought him all the way from Spain to San Antonio Texas. 

How did the Nicolas-impersonator pass as the Barclay family's son, who had pale white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes? At first, I thought this documentary would be ridiculous. How could a family be so stupid and naive? I would think my mom would know it wasn't me if I came back from having dark brown hair to a sandy brown and my eye color has changed from dark black to green. But watching this played out scenario from the disappearance of Nicolas Barclay to finding the Nicolas-impersonator is mind boggling. I felt a level of sympathy and understanding of denial of finding their long lost son. For a minute I paused because I had forgotten this was a true story and not a movie. The family's level of denial went way passed crazy. It was now up to a level of suspicion. 

Nicolas-impersonator was living the American life. He was an American citizen, was going to school, and he was just Nicolas Barclay. His story fascinated FBI agent Nancy Fisher and when she questioned him, he told a horrifying story of how he was abducted into the US military personnel and was sexually abused. His story then sparked the interest of private investigator Charles Barker who was working for the TV Show Hard Copy. From there... everything twists and turns with irony to that irony to lies covered in lies and it's hard to realize this is a true story. 

The Imposter has real interviews from the French-con artist himself while he tells his side of the story. Re-enactments are shown to show the audience a picture of what this incredible impersonator went through to change himself. You will literally feel sympathy, deception, love, confusion, betrayed and this will keep you on the edge of your seat till the very last minute of the documentary. Director Bart Layton had blurred the lines this piece being a documentary, but having elements of a movie in it. The final outcome is amazing and breaking the boundaries between the documentary and movie really presented itself. This was one of the biggest highlights in the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. 

MY NEXT PIECE WILL BE ABOUT THE FRENCH CON ARTIST. WONDER WHAT THE IMPOSTOR IS DOING TODAY? WAIT FOR IT.