77
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe documentary equivalent of a page-turner.
- 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.
- 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.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe 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.
- 80Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfBlessed 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.
- 80The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOne of the most entertaining documentaries to appear since "Exit Through the Gift Shop," a film similarly obsessed with role playing and deception.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversA movie that offers hard speculation and harder truths. You won't be able to get it out of your head.
- 70Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonThick 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.
- 63Slant MagazineNick SchagerSlant MagazineNick SchagerThe film shrewdly opts not to proffer its own hypothesis about the true reasons behind the Gibson family buying Frédéric Bourdin's story.