METTEL RAY

Thursday Movie Picks: Fake Identity

This week I struggled. Not because there wasn’t enough to recommend but because there was so much. I thought about so many different angles but eventually I settled on the most obvious one: conmen. This is a genre of movies that I tend to enjoy more than not. And if you add a fake identity to the mix it’s even better! Oh and in case you were wondering, this list has a few fake identity related spoilers.

3. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN CAN (2002)

This one is a movie I have recommended before but I couldn’t make this list without it. This is a movie based on the life of Frank Abagnale a conman who ended up working for the US government. He took on many fake identities in his life, more so fake professions: he was a pilot, lawyer and a doctor. This is an enjoyable cat-and-mouse movie that I do need to rewatch soon!

2. A SIMPLE FAVOR (2018)

Again another one I’ve mentioned before but this is amazing! It’s an interesting movie with many twists and the most amazing one is the fake identity reveal. That is of course a spoiler but the character Blake Lively pretends to be her twin the entire movie. So I mean talk about a twisted fake identity. Lively and Anna Kendrick are great here, plus the fashion is fabulous.

1. MATCHSTICK MEN (2003)

This is the movie I wanted to recommend the most. A true gem and Sam Rockwell is great here! I had the poster for this movie up in my room for years and as time goes by, the more I appreciate its brilliance. It’s not a perfect movie but the conman aspect to it is so good! The amazing twist in the end? The girl who turned up and claimed she was the daughter of a conman was actually a con herself. Brilliant! And the craziness of Nicolas Cage works in the context of this movie so well too.

THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES

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Thursday Movie Picks 2020

12 responses to “Thursday Movie Picks: Fake Identity”

  1. Brittani Avatar
    Brittani

    I’ve seen all three of your picks this week! I was so distracted by the girl playing a 14 year old in Matchstick Men who was clearly in her 20’s. I could not get around that. lol

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      Ah well she wasn’t 14 after all.. which was sort of supposed to be weird. 😀

      Reply
  2. Sonia Avatar
    Sonia

    A Simple Favor is such a good film! I’m hating myself so much for not thinking about it.

    Reply
  3. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    A Simple Favor was so much fun! I’ve never seen Matchstick Men, but I adore Sam Rockwell so I should probably remedy that!

    Reply
    1. Cinematic Delights Avatar
      Cinematic Delights

      I second what Sara writes! A Simple Favor was intriguing and I too haven’t seen Matchstick Men although I really rate Sam Rockwell.

      Reply
  4. Wandering through the Shelves Avatar
    Wandering through the Shelves

    I’ve seen all of them.
    A Simple Favor turned out so well. This is one of those instances where the movie is better than the book because I really really didn’t like the book.

    Reply
  5. Katy Avatar
    Katy

    Nice picks! We share Catch Me If You Can this week. And the costumes in A Simple Favor are amazing – those outfits are worth it alone to fake an identity. lol

    Reply
  6. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    I LOVE Catch Me If You Can which seems to be the title of the week. It’s a great fit and a great film. Fun, lively with wonderful production and costume design plus fantastic performances from all none moreso than Hanks and DiCaprio though.

    I liked Matchstick Men, it’s been years though but I do remember thinking that Sam Rockwell was the MVP.

    I’ve heard of but haven’t seen A Simple Favor mostly because Anna Kendrick’s appeal has always eluded me.

    I looked for three that dealt with the false id theme in different ways and came up with these. My last shares many similarities with Catch Me If You Can, it came first but both are based on true stories.

    This Side of the Law (1950)-Picked up on a vagrancy charge wanderer David Cummins (Kent Smith) is bailed out by lawyer Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas) because he bears a remarkable resemblance to multi-millionaire Malcolm Taylor. As it happens Taylor is about to be declared dead after having gone missing seven years hence, if David will assume Taylor’s identity and convince his estranged family-wife Evelyn (Viveca Lindfors), brother Calder (John Alvin) and sister-in-law Nadine (Janis Paige)-that he is truly the missing man Cagle will pay him five thousand dollars. What seems like easy money quickly spirals into a web of deception and murder.

    The Man Who Never Was (1956)-During WWII as Britain mobilizes to invade Sicily, intelligence agent Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) conceives a diversionary scheme to lead Germany to believe the true target is Greece. Creating the false identity of Major William Martin for a young man with no family who recently died of pneumonia (giving the appearance of drowning) Montagu plants phony top secret documents on the body and arranges for it to wash ashore in Spain. While Hitler believes the information German undercover agent Patrick O’Reilly (Stephen Boyd) is skeptical. His suspicions risk exposing the deception.

    The Great Imposter (1961)-Young Ferdinand Demara Jr. (Tony Curtis) quits high school to join the Army with hopes of becoming an officer but finds his lack of education stands in his way. His solution is to fake papers as an officer in the Marines but eventually his lie is detected. On the run he assumes the identity of a Trappist monk. In time though he again must flee and as the years pass Demara impersonates a sailor, prison warden, teacher and doctor as his journeys take him around the globe. This is based on a true story.

    Reply
  7. Birgit Avatar
    Birgit

    I love Catch Me which is so much fun to watch. I haven’t seen the second film which sounds neat. Matchstick Men-is one I finally saw just this past month and so enjoyed especially Sam Rockwell. Nicholas Cage played the part well but I don’t think it’s much of a stretch.

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      Well Cage essentially played himself I feel like but Sam’s my fav in Matchstick. Catch Me is such a good rewatch movie too, like when you feel like watching something that one will never disappoint. I feel like you would like A Simple Favour. It has some real good things!

      Reply
  8. ThePunkTheory Avatar
    ThePunkTheory

    We match with your first pick, but somehow I haven’t even heard of the latter two 😂

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      Haven’t even heard? Woah. That’s… I thought for sure everyone would have heard of AHS at least. 😀

      Reply

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