The Imposter
Indomina Releasing | Release Date: July 13, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonAug 24, 2012
One of the best films of the year. Read full review
100
EmpireGuy LodgeAug 20, 2012
The year's most fascinating and frightening doc so far, The Imposter delves far beneath the hysterical tabloid headlines. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniAug 16, 2012
Gripping, hair-raising documentary. Read full review
100
Total FilmMatt GlasbyAug 5, 2012
Creepier than "Catfish" and as cinematic as "Man On Wire," this is an unnerving story immaculately told and a strong contender for documentary of the year. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJul 11, 2012
The documentary equivalent of a page-turner. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJul 10, 2012
A mesmerizing psychological thriller bulging with twists, turns, nasty insinuations and shocking revelations that might have leapt from the pages of a Patricia Highsmith novel, The Imposter is all the more astonishing because it actually happened. Read full review
88
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeJul 13, 2012
Despite a bunch of fourth-wall-breaking re-enactments, the look is consistent with most TV true-crime stories. But the way Layton parcels out information makes this story as strange and fascinating as anyone could desire. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJul 11, 2012
The Imposter strings the audience along, to get them to understand first-hand how easy it is to buy into a well-told story, even when there's no evidence to support it. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 16, 2012
It's all a seedy, sordid mess, and it only gets worse -- and more and more intriguing. Layton engages in re-enactments of some parts of the story, a tactic that is either helpful or annoying, depending on your appetite for such things. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 2, 2012
This is a train wreck you think you see coming, but no matter how prepared you are the nature and extent of the damage will overwhelm you. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJul 12, 2012
One of the most entertaining documentaries to appear since "Exit Through the Gift Shop," a film similarly obsessed with role playing and deception. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 10, 2012
Blessed with an improbable-but-true story that functions on many ironic levels, this clever documentary ultimately conveys more about the complex American character - shifting between intimacy and criminality - than a whole shelf of fiction films. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJul 10, 2012
The Imposter makes slick work of its wily subject, using atmospheric reenactments and stark, soul-baring interviews to explore a mind-boggling case of false identity. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAug 15, 2012
The crime is beyond bizarre, and the film is relentlessly suspenseful, but perhaps the most disturbing question of all is this: Whatever happened to Nicholas Barclay? To that, there remains no satisfactory answer. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenOct 12, 2012
The utterly bizarre story made national news when it broke, has since provided much magazine fodder, and popped up only two years ago adapted into a dramatic feature. Now it receives the documentary treatment and, in the devilishly manipulative hands of director Bart Layton, what a treatment it is – the weirdness just gets weirder. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezSep 13, 2012
The most fascinating aspect of The Imposter, though, is why the missing boy's family believed his story. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn LevyAug 23, 2012
Director Bart Layton's film takes us to such strange and emotionally-charged places that we cannot believe that what we're seeing is real, even though it demonstrably is. Read full review
75
Washington PostMark JenkinsAug 9, 2012
What's most fascinating are the movie's larger questions about why some people tell impossible lies -- and why others believe them. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 5, 2012
The Imposter has too many reenactments for my taste, and Bourdin is glorified by Layton more often than he is condemned. Still, this is one creepy mystery. Read full review
75
The PlaylistTodd GilchristJul 25, 2012
The Imposter is a great commentary on the subjectivity of any event, and one that probes deeply into the motivations of its subjects. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 13, 2012
A movie that offers hard speculation and harder truths. You won't be able to get it out of your head. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonJul 10, 2012
Thick with reenactments and cute cutaways, the movie evolves into a cultural inquisition, following this stranger through the strange land of bad-news America, where the truth is still waiting to be exhumed. Read full review
63
ObserverDrew GrantJul 17, 2012
As a thriller, The Imposter is gripping. As a documentary, it provokes confusion and annoyance. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineNick SchagerJul 8, 2012
The film shrewdly opts not to proffer its own hypothesis about the true reasons behind the Gibson family buying Frédéric Bourdin's story. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 7, 2012
There's a good reason why the true-crime film The Imposter is a documentary: If someone tried to pass off this bizarre Texas tale as fiction, nobody would believe it. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineMark KeizerJul 18, 2012
A true crime tale with added layers of intrigue and atmosphere. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyAug 16, 2012
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. At least her unwillingness to think makes sense. Read full review
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