A recent Netflix addition that is being discussed by almost everyone is The Tinder Swindler. Directed by Felicity Morris, the documentary film tells the story of two young women who were targeted by a conman on a dating app. By showing the actual WhatsApp messages exchanged between those involved, interview clips of the two victims at the heart of the story, and the shockingly vicious voice notes left behind by the elusive con man himself, the film has grabbed the attention of audiences around the world. However, regardless of The Tinder Swindler's success, it is certainly not the first story about an extraordinary scam to receive such acclaim.
Films based on both fictional and real-life con artists have long-dominated the movie industry, forming a cornerstone of Hollywood greats like The Wolf of Wall Street, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and even the entire Ocean's Eleven franchise. However, there are also several documentaries released over the past couple of decades that unflinchingly portray the real-life stories of con men and their elaborate schemes.
Why is it that we are so often compelled by stories about the art of the con? Check out this list, if you too were gripped by the twists and turns of The Tinder Swindler.
The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman (2022)
Prepare yourself for a shocking and disturbing story with this one. Thirty seconds into episode one of this three-part docu-series, we are presented with an interview set up of a young brother and sister sitting together in a dimly lit room, being asked a question that echoes poignantly throughout the entire series; “if your mum was here now, what message would you want to give to her?”
In The Puppet Master, viewers are taken through Robert Henry Freegard’s astounding tale of deceit and manipulation. Without a doubt, everything in this series seems to be incredibly well-thought-out, all elements adding to the elusiveness of Freegard himself. Blurry photos of the con man and dark, shadowy backdrops of interview setups reflect an aura of mystery, while dreary landscapes of English country roads and the unsettling use of music - most notably, Duran Duran that Freegard reportedly played on a loop on long drives - all combine to leave viewers with a true sense of how far Freegard went to trap his victims.
Something that The Puppet Master does incredibly well is capturing the emotional elements of the stories told by Freegard’s victims. Scenes of Sophie and Jake Clifton, son and daughter of Freegard’s current wife, talking directly at the camera to address their long-time missing mother, stand out among others in this film at conveying the devastating effects of Freegard’s manipulation on the families involved. If you are looking for an exploration of coercive abuse, as dark as that sounds, this documentary series is the one for you.
Fyre (2019)
At its most basic level, Fyre is a story about how false promises can lead to disastrous consequences. Don’t worry though, the film is not a moralistic commentary on why lying is bad, but instead, a dramatic and effective portrayal of how entrepreneur, Billy McFarland, and his sidekick, rapper Ja Rule, tried to put on one of the worst music festivals of all time.
Undeniably, a sense of chaos is present throughout the film, slowly building at first as Fyre festival employees are interviewed about the disorganized nature of their workplace, and then building quickly to a crashing halt at the film’s finale where we see how the now-infamous festival unfolded during those rainy summer days in the Bahamas in 2017.
While the story of McFarland is in itself a bizarre tale of self-delusion, the documentary film is also brilliantly put together in a way that brings justice to the story. Fast-paced scenes of festival-goers rampaging through ruined campsite grounds starkly contrast shots of supermodels lounging around on pristine Caribbean beaches - showing just how much this fraudulent luxury music festival promised and how little it truly delivered.
The Imposter (2012)
Unlike other true-crime documentaries, this BAFTA-award-winning film seems to fit more into an investigative thriller genre as it unfolds slowly through an astonishing, stranger-than-fiction tale of a French con artist who tricks a family in Texas, US into believing he is their long-lost child. How the family believed a 20-something, dark-haired Frenchman was their 16-year-old blonde son is beyond us, but don’t let that fool you; this film is truly an artistic masterpiece.
Remarkably, the film is largely based on interview footage of the con artist himself, Frederic Bourdin, a seemingly down-to-earth, almost likable character, who was, at one stage in his life, wanted by Interpol for his extensive record of identity thefts of missing minors across Europe. Just the fact that the audience is able to hear from the so-called imposter himself is a unique attribute to this film, unlike its counterparts, inviting audience empathy for Bourdin and the circumstances that may have led him to lead such a strange life of crime.
Without revealing too much, The Imposter's narrative flair, the poignantly shot scenes of the family's hometown in Texas, and the heartbreaking, almost chilling home footage of the still-missing Nicholas Barclay, create an impeccable investigative story of how far a single lie can go. It is clear why this film received so many critical accolades.
Catfish (2010)
Whilst the reality MTV show may be the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the title, Catfish, we cannot forget the initial story that started it all off. In fact, the original documentary film follows Nev Schulman himself, at the time, a New York-based photographer and documentarist. Nev one day receives a painting of one of his photos sent over by eight-year-old Abby, a young painter extraordinaire, living in Michigan. By sending back a simple message of thanks via Facebook, he embarks on a stream of social media correspondence with Abby and her mysterious, wildly talented, and not-so-humble family.
Following a similar pattern of a bizarre tale that unravels through the eyes of the filmmakers involved, Catfish is an eerie film that takes audiences along on a journey of false hope and deception. Even though today’s age of social media and TikTok teens has now accelerated far beyond the early days of Facebook, Catfish was a stand-out film for its time by depicting the unknowns and dangers of the internet. While some scenes in this film will make you laugh out loud, like Nev’s reading of his intimate text messages, others that feature the three friends driving around deserted farmhouses in the dead of night will be sure to keep you on your toes as well. Whatever your opinion on social media, Catfish will definitely make you think twice, all while taking you on an unpredictable ride.
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (2021)
In 2019, an investigation was launched by US federal prosecutors into a huge criminal conspiracy to falsify admissions decisions at several Ivy-league universities. This documentary film explores the scandal and the investigation that followed, code-named ‘Operation Varsity Blues’, which eventually led to the uncovering of the scheme’s ringleader, William Rick Singer. Chris Smith, the documentarian who is best known for Tiger King, tells the story of this scandal in an incredibly unique way, making use of reenactments to drive forwards the non-fictional story.
The fictional elements of the documentary truly make for the most captivating tale, creating a documentary-drama hybrid that allows audiences to watch a feature film-style depiction of Singer’s extraordinary scheme. Through the well-cast reenactment scenes, Smith seems to give viewers an added understanding of Singer’s overzealous and arrogant personality, as well as the details of the scandal itself, making this a one-of-the-kind, character-centered story. Added to this, the film’s focus on wiretapped phone calls proves to be especially effective at revealing the complexity of Ivy League admissions systems, but more importantly than that, its inherent flaws and biases.
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
Nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2019, The Inventor tells the story of the rise and decline of Theranos, a multi-billion dollar tech company, and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes. Right from the start of the film, Holmes is presented as a Steve Jobs-like leader in the world of tech, from the way she dresses, emulating Job’s classic black polo necks, to the way she talks passionately about changing the entire world with her inventions. But be warned - this is not a film like that of Jobs and his Apple empire, nor a motivational film of how hard work can lead to all your wildest dreams coming true. Instead, it is one of fraud and scandal, and in effect, how to scam Silicon Valley investors out of billions of dollars.
Throughout the film, interview clips of Theranos employees shockingly convey the culture of paranoia created by Holmes’ heinous lies and lack of transparency, showing that all was not as it seemed behind the glossy glass doors of the Theranos headquarters. Alex Gibney, the director, cleverly uses voiceovers that reveal Holmes’s delusions of grandeur, as well as film footage depicting how she spent a great deal of her time surrounded by powerful men in politics who would offer validation to her ideas. In fact, Holmes’ almost cliché lifestyle and tendency to mimic powerful Silicon Valley figures becomes more questionable. If she has to try this hard to ‘fit in’, what is she really hiding? If you want to learn more about the psyche of this young, self-made billionaire before the dramatized Hulu series The Dropout, this documentary is certainly one to watch.
Dirty John: The Dirty Truth (2019)
In 2017, the LA Times released a gripping, true-crime podcast about a con man named John Meehan, whose remarkable story took the world by storm, prompting the dramatization of the podcast through a Netflix show, Dirty John. Since then, Netflix has also released a documentary that features the real people behind the tale, including Debra Newell, ex-wife of John, and her two daughters who helped to uncover John Meehan for who he was.
Dirty John: The Dirty Truth provides an in-depth picture of what happened to Newell and her daughters, Terra and Jacquelyn, how John became a part of their lives, and how he attempted to pull off his scam on this unsuspecting family. With photos of Meehan from his childhood, details of the criminal cases against him, and autopsy reports including those detailing Terra Newell’s self-defense against her mother’s violent husband, the documentary reveals all the entanglements of the complex web of lies weaved by this notorious con artist.