96% The Imposter

All Critics (93) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (89) | Rotten (4)

The most fascinating aspect of the movie is why the missing boy's family believed the imposter's story.

You may begin to wonder if you aren't being conned by the movie yourself.

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.

Superbly crafted documentary about a missing teenager who mysteriously resurfaces after three years, prompting a riveting, better-than-fiction Cold Case-style drama.

If only the movie didn't almost glamorise Bourdin's action, they'd have been onto a real masterpiece.

If you are a fan of true crime stories or the workings of the human mind, The Imposter will blow you away.

... both interesting and repellent.

An unnerving experience and a brilliant piece of documentary filmmaking that peels back the layers on one of the most perplexing stories

Layton layers "The Imposter" with powerful images in the dramatic re-creations, as well as a brooding soundscape and a concise pacing that distributes its information with the reserve of a good mystery writer.

"The Imposter" may be the first movie since "Penn and Teller Get Killed" whose title may need its own spoiler alert.

Every bit as engaging as it is well-shot, it proves once more that truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction.

A mixture of documentary, mystery and thriller, which recounts an astonishing true story that gets more outrageous with each revelation

Strange and intriguing, searching for that elusive essence known as 'the perfect truth.'

Rather like watching a magician pulling off a trick which your eyes cannot see, The Imposter offers its own strange kind of magic.

The story is astonishing enough on its own, and The Imposter succeeds in enhancing its immediacy and intensity.

As his story unfolds, one gets the uncomfortable sensation that a joke is being played. But on whom?

One of the year's most provocative pictures.

Incredibly well-made and with a story you won't forget, "The Imposter" is one of the better docs of the season.

The Imposter emerges as a brilliantly slippery film that demands brain-stretching consideration. Astonishing, indeed.

It's an astounding story, truly, and Bourdin is the most chillingly sympathetic sociopath: frank, remorseless, matter-of-fact.

British director Bart Layton has only slightly fictionalised this extraordinary story for his documentary, which is told more as a thriller than a statement of hard fact.

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

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