A tonally conflicted misfire
Chikli was a serial scammer who preyed on women who were gullible and desperate for money. He used his charm and good looks to convince them to invest in his schemes, only to take advantage of them later on. Chikli was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined 2 million euros for his crimes.
The Masked Scammer is a Netflix true-crime documentary that uses quirky, upbeat jazz music and a light, breezy tone to tell its story. This film does not seem to fit the background behind the scam artist behind this scam, who is actually quite dark and mysterious.
But this week, he announced that he’s quitting the scam operation and returning to his true identity. Why? Chikli says it’s because he doesn’t believe in the art of fraud.
The film predominantly focuses on various interviews with investigators, such as Eric Moreau, Chikli’s ex-wives, and words from Chikli himself. ..
The film’s exclusion of those who were scammed by its protagonist is damning, as it shows that the film is not interested in exploring the negative consequences of being scammed. Additionally, it could be argued that if this tone is going for, The Tinder Swindler may have had a very different outcome.
While the story itself is okay, the tone of the piece feels off. The idea to go all quirky, light and breezy feels like the wrong message to send out, regardless of the fact that the victims were high level authority figures. ..
The Masked Scammer is a story that is told the wrong way. The perfunctory and blase feel toward the scams themselves, passing them off almost as “banter” at times discredits the damage that these scammers can actually do. Ultimately, The Masked Scammer is an interesting story told the complete wrong way, and certainly one that could have been so much better.
