Faking It

The Imposter
Dir: Bart Layton

Occasionally, a film comes along that I strongly recommend others to see, but with the caveat that they don’t attempt to read anything about the film’s plot beforehand. Recent examples have included Capturing The Freidmans, the exquisitely disturbing documentary uncovering a suburban sex scandal; and Catfish, the Facebook generation’s twisted road trip with a difference. The Imposter should certainly be seen as another of these movies. Its unbelievable premise, gripping plot and spectacular thematic exploration leave you having to remind yourself that you are watching a documentary, and not a sophisticated crime thriller. 

The Imposter focuses on the story of Frédéric Bourdin, a dark 23-year-old Frenchman who, in 1997, successfully convinced a Texan family that he was their missing blonde, blue-eyed, 16-year-old son. Through interviews with Frédéric and the boy’s family, as well as dramatic reconstructions, The Imposter explores a truly fascinating story of deceit, suspicion, loss, and the desire to be loved. 

It is not just the events in the film that are so compelling, but also the prowess with which debutant director Bart Layton and cinematographers Lynda Hall (Dreams Of A Life) and Erik Wilson (Submarine, Tyrannosaur) capture the emotion of those involved, and spectacularly recreate the gaps in the subjects’ stories. The dark visuals, smooth match cuts and aching soundscapes make it impossible not to invest and empathise with the people on screen. Yet, within this web of lies and questions, the notion of truth is constantly fleeting, and as the story unravels it becomes increasingly difficult to trust and believe what is presented on screen. 

Regardless of how you feel leaving the cinema, The Imposter is an incredibly well executed film, which is guaranteed to engage every member of the audience before leaving them desperate to discuss and discover more.

10/10

Bear Jokes

Ted

Dir: Seth MacFarlane

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis

Ted begins in Boston in 1985, where a young boy’s Christmas wish comes true and his toy teddy bear is magically brought to life. Ted (voiced and performed through motion capture by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane) enjoys a brief career as an 80s child star, before we jump to the present day where he now exists as a layabout stoner buddy, and general bad influence, to his 35 year old childhood friend, John (Mark Wahlberg). As the film progresses, Ted and John’s immature friendship based around getting high and watching Flash Gordon begins to take a strain on John’s relationship with his more mature girlfriend, Lori (Mila Kunis).

For a film about an anthropomorphised, pot-smoking, foul-mouthed and casually racist teddy bear – Ted begins very strongly. There’s loads of laughs to be had just watching Ted and John chilling on the couch and making pop-culture jokes, which are reminiscent of Family Guy’s glory days. There are also great comedic performances from the supporting cast, including a handful of amusing cameos. The first hour of Ted is well paced and had me regularly laughing out loud.

However, MacFarlene then seemed to remember he was writing a Hollywood movie and not an anarchic 20-minute TV episode. Staple story conventions thus creep in, channelling the likes of Knocked Up and Toy Story 2. The final act of the film, therefore, steers towards a predictable ending with significantly less laughs. Yet, annoyingly, the story didn’t need to be so telegraphed. More of the early vulgar humour would have been strong enough to entertain the movie’s key demographic, and some of the finest comedies – such as This Is Spinal Tap – manage to keep up the laughs when characters hit similar problems to MacFarlane’s.

The majority of Ted is crude, close to the mark and very very funny. Unfortunately, the schmaltzy and predictable story telling towards the end let down what could have been a much more entertaining film. Hopefully MacFarlane’s next picture will stick to pleasing the immature stoners, rather than attempting to grow up.

7 / 10