Opening with an older gent and younger woman seemingly tracking an unknown man somewhere in Poland, The Man with a Thousand Faces immediately offers us its storytelling style, that of secretive and surreptitious narrative that’ll gradually reveal its wider reality.

It’s shown that the pair do know what the person looks like, but he hasn’t been seen in public for some time, and it’s now led them to this location some 5 years after the person in question began some of their ‘varied’ life with a story that’ll take us from Paris to the Czech Republic, via Poland, Brazil and Argentina.

Behind this investigative narrative, with help from a private detective, is French director Sonia Kronlund, who is aiming to solve a real-life story that feels peculiarly timely but also instructive and concerning. And the man we’re studying goes by numerous names and identities (that we know of), from Alexandre, Ricardo to Daniel – and he hides behind these names and devises lives for himself, whilst also dating four different women – always adjusting his life story or job roles for each woman and, just as disturbingly, even his personality styles.

Kronlund tells the story through the eyes of his victims, some of the women involved are the actual women who have been deceived in some form, whilst a couple are played by actresses in reconstructions (which is understandable), yet they’re all eager to find out where he is now, and the overall aim is to try and stop him doing this to more women if he’s still playing the games they did with them.

I think the most captivating part of The Man with a Thousand Faces, even though that number in the title might be overselling it somewhat, is a deeper look into what people will believe and possibly even how worryingly easy the situations are to comprehend, and how they happen. The fraud stories that get the biggest coverage often involve high stakes, big money and beyond but this documentary draws its spotlight on a situation that could be an everyday occurrence. And despite the stories becoming stranger than fiction, these women have the advantage of the resources and tenacity of filmmaker Sonia Kronlund, which is certainly a positive.

During the running time, we’ll also learn a lot more about him, than he probably ever realised. It shows us that he wasn’t actually afraid to show his real face in every situation, he wasn’t fearful of making up stories but what started to give him away was when the women started to reach out to each other – after he did things like leaving his browsing history open, but maybe he was confident he had nothing to worry about – in a narcissistic sociopathic kind of way. So, despite all the different lives, some things started to crossover, from fake best friends to borrowing money for reasons unknown, the man had his patterns – even if neighbours met him and believed in him as well.

This was a conman of the highest level and, even more ominously, I’m not entirely sure he even realises he was. Among the stories, it’s sad to hear the reality of those people involved which ranges between anger, sadness and frustration over what he caused, even if there’s a lady called Bruna who’s ready to literally take him out if she ever sees him again – who’s excellent and we certainly comprehend why.

While the documentary isn’t heavily on the ‘edge of your seat,’ it retains a captivating intrigue as they do eventually track him down, and the outcomes of what Sonia has planned for him during the meeting offers some cathartic release. This final third also gives the audience a first-hand insight into his way of thinking, which is a little distressing considering he appears almost harmless in his manners, and where he’s ended up, but it doesn’t take away from all the pain and psychological fear he’s caused to the women he lied to along the way. Make no mistake, this is a man with a lack of real compassion and a life of intense deceit, in all the worst ways.

While The Man with a Thousand Faces might not quite hit the satisfying conclusion for all the reasons you’ll see, and undoubtedly want, it remains an engaging private detective documentary that fits and reflects part of the darker elements of the world we live in today, and it’s worth leaning into and learning the weight of the reality.

The Man with a Thousand Faces is in UK cinemas from 22 November