Noodles on the ears: 5 films and series about swindlers

“MONEYpulators (2023)

Often in the cinema they show a rather romanticized image of a swindler and a swindler, and a colorful picture is distracting. It is harder and harder for the viewer to resist a funny or tearful story, while it is easier to empathize with the villains on the screen. Victims of crimes are often condemned, maliciously saying that it is simply impossible to fall for such a dubious bait. The series, using the example of four real cases, clearly demonstrates that women who are far from stupid and held in society are able to fall into the trap of liars.

When viewing, it is worth winding up on your mustache that behind the attractive hooligans there are much more unpleasant prototypes. The project was called “MONEYpulators”, which also contains the main problem. The crooks go to all sorts of manipulations, just to snatch the prey, building their happiness on someone else’s misfortune. Four completely different women fall into the same trap as old as the world. Rogues put pressure on the sick – love. By making a person feel needed, they weaken vigilance and thereby destroy expectations and hopes, taking easy money with them. But love and money are incompatible things.

“Paper Moon” (1973)

The action of this picture takes place in the midst of the Great Depression. In a difficult time for America, a piece of bread must be earned in all possible ways, including various tricks. Inept swindler Moses travels with a 9-year-old fellow traveler across the country, deceiving and extracting money from even bigger klutzes than himself. Sometimes, unfortunately, guys come across not a miss. Under the guise of a romantic road movie, the film reveals the terrible truth that in the place of a fraudster with no talent for deceit, anyone who needs to force can turn out to be. As the saying goes: “Do not renounce prison and the bag.”

“Catch Me If You Can” (2002)

Steven Spielberg’s detective comedy follows the life of Frank Abagnale, a con man who, thanks to luck and opportunism, manages to hide from the law for many years. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the “agile hare”, sparkling with his heels on the run from the “hunting dog” Tom Hanks (FBI agent) following him. In order to avoid prison, Frank is capable of anything. The film in an unusual light presents the aphorism: “A talented person, talented in everything.” Especially if only a couple of myths and a little natural charm are enough for the cause.

The real prototype of the character was Frank William Abagnale Jr., a former criminal and now a writer, whose memoirs formed the basis of the picture. The veracity of the share of his tricks, described by him in a literary work, has not yet been proven, but he clearly has not forgotten how to “powder his brains”.

“Swindler” (2020)

The heroine of the film, Marla, played by Rosamund Pike, chooses the most vulnerable segment of society – pensioners – as the target of her scams. Excellent at playing roles in front of the court and social services, she poses as the guardians of helpless old people. Plunging into atrocities in detail, she turns them into a profession. Having found a more powerful player in her field, the cheat worries about the competition and the fact that her piece will be taken away. Therefore, the girl does not intend to give up fraud even in the face of danger to her own life. Elderly people are easier to cheat because of naivety, and Marla mercilessly pulls on these strings. An instructive and relevant story about how the inability to stop in time destroys a person. And stubbornness and greed lead to bigger troubles.

“Inventing Anna” (2021)

Series Netflix about the sensational story of Anna Sorokina, a swindler from Russia who skillfully pretended to be a rich heiress. Under the pseudonym Anna Delvey, the girl led wealthy acquaintances and friends by the nose, rubbing herself into their confidence and receiving checks from them for impressive sums. “Inventing Anna” explores the motivations that lead to situations where it is much easier and more profitable to try on the mask of a non-existent person than to be a real one.