Movie Review
True Documentary
The Masked Con is a blatant Netflix true crime documentary with completely inappropriate undertones to the background behind this con artist. With few victims actually interviewed by any of these companies, this film decides to use a quirky, upbeat jazz score and a light, breezy tone to tell its story.
It's a strange creative decision and makes Gilbert Chikli look more like a modern day Robin Hood than an actual crook. Over the years, Chikli posed as different figures, even going so far as to impersonate a French minister on video calls.
Film Focus
The film focuses mainly on various talking head interviews between investigators such as Eric Moreau, Chickley's ex-wives, and words from Chickley himself.
One of the most egregious exceptions here is hearing from those who have actually been deceived by this man. There are clear statements about those who paid Chikli the detailed sums they did, foolishly and convincingly, getting exactly what they deserved. Likewise, you could argue that The Tinder Swindler could have had a very different outcome if the film had gone with this tone!
While the story itself is good, the biggest problem here is the aforementioned tone. The idea of being frivolous and light and breezy feels like the completely wrong message to send, regardless of whether the victims are high-ranking authority figures.
Fraudsters feel like frauds and liars, presenting it almost as a "joke" sometimes belies the damage these scammers can actually do. Ultimately, The Masked Swindler is an interesting story told completely wrong, and it certainly could have been better.