The Chameleon

I decided not to mark this review for possible spoilers, since this movie is about a true story and therefore most people who are interested in seeing it will already know how it ends. Besides, several previous reviews tell more than I will about the end, and they got through without spoiler warnings.

First off, it's ridiculous to praise Ellen Barkin's acting just because she's practically unrecognizable: that's called makeup, not acting. Maybe she should be commended for allowing herself to look so awful, but she never was much in the looks department either. The best I can say is that she doesn't ruin this movie as she has some others. Her one-note performance certainly is unusual, but unusual doesn't necessarily mean great.

Second, the problem with movies based on true stories is that if the story isn't interesting the movie usually isn't interesting either. At first I wondered why I had never heard of any of these people before, under any names, and now I know why: there's nothing interesting about them - not the screwed-up, depressed family and not the neurotic, narcissistic bozo who duped them.

Famke Janssen adds a little bit of interest just because she's a charismatic person, but that plus Barkin's mousy, greasy, depressed, anorexic chain-smoking junkie are not enough to sustain a very boring story about very boring people.