The Chameleon (2010)

25% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
31% of users liked it
(676 ratings)

A family welcomes home a missing child, but he may not be all he seems to be in this suspense drama. Nicholas Barclay was a 13-year-old living in Louisiana with his family when he mysteriously disappeared, and though his mother, Kimberly (Ellen Barkin), and sister, Kathy (Emilie de Ravin), have been… More A family welcomes home a missing child, but he may not be all he seems to be in this suspense drama. Nicholas Barclay was a 13-year-old living in Louisiana with his family when he mysteriously disappeared, and though his mother, Kimberly (Ellen Barkin), and sister, Kathy (Emilie de Ravin), have been hopeful he'll be found, after three years it seems increasingly unlikely. To their surprise, Nicholas (Marc-André Grondin) returns home one day, claiming he'd been kidnapped by child predators but finally escaped. Kimberly and Kathy are overjoyed and welcome him home with open arms. Nicholas' brother-in-law, Brian (Brian Geraghty), senses this young man isn't really Nicholas, though, and Jennifer Johnson (Famke Janssen), an FBI agent looking into the case, shares his suspicions. But if Brian and Jennifer are convinced Nicholas is an imposter, why aren't Kimberly and Kathy willing to acknowledge the same evidence? Based on a true story, The Chameleon was the first English-language feature from French director Jean-Paul Salomé. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Jean-Paul Salomé
Written By: Natalie Carter, Jean-Paul Salomé
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jul 8, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Aug 22, 2011
Studio: Cinema Epoch

Critic Reviews

Stephen Holden, New York Times
We see the impostor's trickery but not the pain driving it.
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
Screenwriters, take note: Unless your story is a whodunit, it's an unforgivable flaw to telegraph early and often that, sometime during the final act, we should anticipate the proverbial rug to be pulled.
Dennis Harvey, Variety
The execution falls short of its full potential.
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Salomé and co-writer Natalie Carter offer some explanatory psychology, but the complexities remain underdeveloped. Still, you won't be bored.
Nick Schager, Time Out New York
Characterized by a consistent scarcity of both drama and suspense.
Blake French, Filmcritic.com
spellbinding
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Though there's plenty of skill on display here, "The Chameleon" is one of those films that feels out of whack, as if it focuses too much energy on the wrong story, leaving a more interesting one in the background.
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
On the surface, The Chameleon reeks of contrived melodrama, cinematically nondescript in almost every way.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Manu G

You can't die twice. This film to me was stressful to watch. I was bored and eagerly for it to end so I could finally know what the hell was it about. The acting was mediocre and the cast was not that good, it felt like it needed a good known actor for it to be better. So what… More
You can't die twice. This film to me was stressful to watch. I was bored and eagerly for it to end so I could finally know what the hell was it about. The acting was mediocre and the cast was not that good, it felt like it needed a good known actor for it to be better. So what that it was based on a true story big deal, this movie was pointless and crappy. The amazing true story of Frédéric Bourdin, who after having plundered all the centers for runaway minors and deliquents in Europe, even thought he has come of age, now passes himself off as Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old American who had vanished three years ago. To his astonishment, Nicholas's family welcomes him like their son, leaving Interpol and the FBI aghast. It is the beginning of a race against time for the investigators, family and Bourdin. But who is manipulating whom? And who is Frederic Bourdin in reality?
Christopher H

From the start, I had a hard time latching on to the main character and not because of great writing or directing, but because the actor was simply not believable. Most characters in this film act without instinct or drive, delivering spoon-fed dialogue for no apparent reason but to… More
From the start, I had a hard time latching on to the main character and not because of great writing or directing, but because the actor was simply not believable. Most characters in this film act without instinct or drive, delivering spoon-fed dialogue for no apparent reason but to progress the plot. The Chameleon not only screams melo-drama but lacks any sort of mystery or suspense, feeling glossed over and unwatchable at times. Had the writers given this more time, I feel a much better story could have developed, but instead we are left with a film screaming "made-for-TV-movie" or "Lifetime-original drama".
Sarah P

In theory, this sounds like such a good movie, but I was really disappointed with it. There was really no depth to "Nicholas" or the family themselves. It could have been so much better.