The Imposter

In 1997, over three years after a child’s disappearance in Texas, a seemingly traumatised teenager in Spain claimed to be the missing boy. Nicholas Barclay, a blond, blue-eyed thirteen-year-old American now had brown eyes, a French accent and looked much older than sixteen. Claiming to have escaped from a child prostitution ring, this Nicholas was an imposter, but was somehow still accepted by the family without question.

Detailing the exploits of the man the press nicknamed 'The Chameleon', The Imposter is an enthralling documentary that doesn’t just rely on the key events of its baffling true story for potency. Director Bart Layton incorporates disquieting re-enactments with talking-head interviews and the little archival footage available to him, and structures the film like an elaborate thriller. Doubts are cast regarding all parties involved, even the deceived family, exploring the idea of there being two sides to every story in a truly unsettling fashion. This is a powerful, haunting work. [Josh Slater-Williams]]