With its stark, blunt title, Imposter might be an attempt at a clenched-teeth, psychological drama. But instead, it’s a rather unfocused, undisciplined art film that wants to make a deep statement about something or other.
We meet a group of people on a bus, a businessman, an artist, a soldier, and others. Each is accompanied by a “counterpart,” which is another actor seeming to play their doppelganger. The businessman’s counterpart is a young boy in a baggy jester’s costume. The artist is accompanied by a twin who appears to be naked and is covering up with a large painting she holds. The counterpart is supposed to be expressing the character’s anxieties, I guess. We see them looking anxious. Really, really anxious.
“…artist is accompanied by a twin who appears to be naked and is covering up with a large painting…”
The sequences, which take place in a conference room, at an art exhibition, and on the bus come to an inexplicably bloody conclusion, after which it’s anyone’s guess as to what the hell is actually going on.
I kept looking for some point to be made, but either it’s too esoteric for me to grasp, too simplistic, obvious or diffuse to make much of an impact, or maybe there is none. In any case, the meaning of this nine-minute journey into flat-footed symbolism escapes me.
Imposter (2018) Directed by Chris Esper. Written by Chris Esper. Starring Tom Mariano, Brendan Meehan, Sheetal Kelkar.
2 out of 10
