The director of “The Chameleon” is Jean-Paul Salomé. It is based on true story from the life of Frederic Bourdin, French serial impostor, who was nicknamed “The Chameleon” by press. In 1990s he impersonated missing child Nicholas in Texas, and has been arrested and jailed. The names, years and places in the film are altered. The story seems incredible, yet while watching you understand that such things really happen.
I will tell you a little about the story. A young man (Mark-Andre Grondin) is found on the road in France. After a week of silence at hospital, at last he is able to speak and narrate his story. He claims to be an American boy, Nicholas Mark Randall who disappeared four years ago. He says that he was kidnapped, raped and tortured by child prostitution ring in France and was physically altered to be unrecognizable.
He now has a French accent and different eye colour. Nicholas’ sister Kathy Jansen (Emilie de Ravin) travels from the United States to France to take him back. His mother, Kimberly Miller (Ellen Barkin) and half-brother Brendan Kerrigan (Nick Stahl) do not accept him. FBI agent Jennifer Johnson (Famke Janssen) suspects that the man is impostor. While she seeks proofs, the story of real Nicholas starts to emerge.
Though in the end many questions remain unanswered and the scenes seem erratically paced, in my opinion, the film depicts the way things happened in real; the real story was as unclear for real characters as it is, for film viewers. It is difficult to understand certain details throughout the film as if somebody hides something, but again this seems rather intentional.
Overall, I think “The Chameleon” is a good watch in the company of friends. If you like crime films, you will surely enjoy this film. But be prepared for some confusion!
Reviewer’s rating: 6.5 out of 10
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