"From as long as I remember, I wanted to be someone else"
— Frédéric Bourdin
On June 13th, 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay went out to play basketball with some of his friends in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. He never made it back home. Three years and four months later, the Barclay Family received a call from the American Embassy to Spain, who told them that a young man claiming to be Nicholas Barclay had been found in the country. His sister, Cary Gibson, flew all the way across the Atlantic to confirm that it was her little brother and brought him home.
But it wasn't him.
The Imposter is a 2012 documentary directed by Bart Layton, which chronicles the story of Frédéric Bourdin, a French confidence artist who impersonated Nicholas and inserted himself into his family. It tells things both from the perspective of the Barclay family, desperate to believe their son was back, and Bourdin, desperate not to be found out, as an investigation into him and what happened to Nicholas continues on.
Unrelated to some 70s kung fu flick.
This film provides examples of:
- Anti-Villain: While Bourdin is undoubtedly a criminal, he often comes across as sympathetic.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- Bourdin himself was born to a 17-year-old mother who had a relationship with an Algerian man, something her racist grandfather absolutely despised and repeatedly told her to abort the child.
- The backstory he creates to explain Nicholas' disappearance. According to him, after he got done playing basketball, he was chloroformed, blindfolded and shoved into a truck with other children by military personnel. They were taken to Europe, forced not to speak English, sexually abused and beaten daily, tortured, and experimented on.
- Downer Ending: Bourdin's act is discovered and he's sent to prison before being deported back to France. The Barclays are left even more hurt and angry after his con, especially after charges of homicide are made against them but without enough evidence for a case. Nicholas is still listed as a missing person to this day.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Bourdin claims his motivation for serial impersonation was to find a loving home where he could feel he belonged. His time with the Barclays was one of the rare times he genuinely felt that way.
- I Reject Your Reality: Even when faced with concrete evidence that Bourdin isn't Nicholas, the Barclay Family refuses to accept it, even denying DNA tests that would confirm it. This leads to the suspicion that they may have actually killed Nicholas.
- Intrepid Reporter: Charlie Parker, who decides to investigate the Nicholas Barclay story after he appears on the news and proves instrumental in uncovering Bourdin.
- Karma Houdini: Jason Barclay, if he did kill Nicholas, died of a drug overdose not long after Bourdin was discovered.
- Missing Child: Your son goes out with his friends one day and then never comes home. Years later, someone claiming to be your son calls you and you learn just what a horrifyingly traumatic experience he's been through.
- Offing the Offspring: Months into his stay, Bourdin comes to the conclusion that the Barclays accepted him into their home because they killed Nicholas and lied about him going missing. Whether or not they did is unknown.
- Older Than They Look: Although Bourdin was 23 at the time, he had a history of pretending to be a teenager. He did so by wearing heavy clothing, such as a hoodie, a scarf and hat, never looking anyone in the eye, and only speaking on occasion and in a whispered voice.
- Snowball Lie: Bourdin was being held in a home for teenagers and would've been turned away or even sent to prison if he couldn't prove his identity. On a whim, he told them he was American, which lead to him being given a list of missing children in the United States to see if he could confirm his identity. He decided to tell them that he was Nicholas Barclay, which lead to them calling the boy's family, and things only escalate for Bourdin from there. All while he has no choice but to play along, terrified of the consequences if he gets found out.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- A French man impersonating an American teenager is hard. While the family is quick to accept him, many are very skeptical, especially factors like the time frame, his accent, eye color, facial hair, and general behavior. Charlie Parker confirms it's not him thanks to the differences in their ear shape, a factor just as unique as fingerprints but far more subtle.
- The backstory Bourdin concocts involves him and other children being kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused by American, Mexican and European military personnel for three years before he managed to escape. After this ends up on the news, the FBI begin investigating this supposed child trafficking ring that involves American servicemen.
- Unluckily Lucky: Bourdin ends up in an increasingly escalating series of events thanks to his lies, but repeatedly manages to convince people he really is Nicholas Barclay.
- The Unreveal: The film ends with Charlie Parker and the new resident of the old Barclay house still digging in the spot they believe Nicholas' body was buried. Whether they find anything is never made clear.
