The Tinder Swindler Review: In Search Of Love Online When Danger Lurks In Dating Apps
Director: Felicity Morris
Streaming Platform: Netflix (click to watch)
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Always inscribed in the realm of true crime, this new documentary that enriches the rich Netflix catalog is something very different from what we expect to see on the platform: as we will see in the review of The Tinder Swindler, the film directed by Felicity Morris does not follow the criminal parable of a heinous serial killer but that of a scammer who uses dating apps to hook his victims. No bloody murders but extortion of money driven by love: there are three victims – just some of the many – we know during the vision, three women who get into debt for hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the self-styled character, who they consider their boyfriend. Too bad that this spends their money (most of the time borrowed from banks, because none of them sail in gold) on travel, luxury hotels, cars, clothes and everything else that can confirm his image as a young millionaire carefree. A scam that is almost unbelievable.
The Tinder Swindler Review: The Story
The film opens with the testimony of a woman originally from Oslo, Cecilia (check), in search of the prince charming on Tinder, the well-known dating app. One day this prince seems to show up at her door and during an appointment the woman finds herself on a private jet with destination a dream destination: Simon Leviev is the heir to an empire in the diamond trade, his family she is among the most powerful and wealthiest in the world and he is carrying on family traditions by succeeding his father in business. Cecilia quickly falls in love with a boy who, in addition to being handsome and rich, also seems particularly attentive to her needs, generous and always available. Too bad he travels so much, but the woman is willing to pass over her to her constant absences,
However, the life of young Simon is not all roses and flowers: his important position in the diamond market has brought him many “enemies”, who according to him would like him dead. After an attack in which he is saved by a miracle, only his bodyguard is injured, Simon is forced – in order not to be tracked by the very dangerous criminals who hunt him down – to block all his credit cards. At this point Cecilia can do nothing but ask for loans on loans to help him, the man must in fact carry on his business and cannot afford to stop traveling and staying in the most luxurious hotels in the world.
At this point it is easy to reveal the deception: Simon (and that’s not even his real name!) Is a serial scammer who lives in luxury thanks to the money extorted by deception from his numerous girlfriends. In fact, Cecilia is not the only one to have fallen into her trap, in the course of the vision, as we anticipated, we will in fact speak with two other victims, who have willingly accepted to take part in the documentary. The real problem, however, is how to frame the self-styled individual, who moves easily from one European state to another using false names and leaving very little evidence for the police. If the police cannot help Simon’s victims, the press will instead come into play and catalyze attention on the case.
The Tinder Swindler Review and Analysis
Personally, The Tinder Swindler was one of the Netflix releases of February 2022 that I was looking forward to the most. This was due to how much I enjoyed The Impostor and Cats, Or Touch Them: An Internet Killer, produced by the same team behind this new series. Already the trailer and its title gives us a small preview of what we are going to find. This plays, in my opinion, against the documentary itself. And it is that I think that this type of productions is better to enjoy them coming to them completely virgin. However, The Tinder Swindler delivers what it promises, telling viewers a completely engaging story that will make its nearly two-hour runtime fly by.
The Tinder Swindler, even if it is not the classic true crime that you would expect to find in the Netflix catalog, is a very engaging and well-made film, truly capable of capturing the viewer in the story of its protagonists. One often wonders, during the vision, if they were too naïve and how it is possible that they have fallen into the trap of the shady individual who for years lives in luxury, behind normal girls who chase the dream of a fairytale love, they get entangled in a spider’s web.
Impossible not to identify with them, who – once the story is published – must also suffer a certain backlash from public opinion, which blames them for what happened. At this point, a further study on the scourge of victim blaming would have been interesting, but the documentary closes rather hastily, leaving the viewer with a bad taste in the mouth for a conclusion that is not as satisfying as the one one would have expected.
The Tinder Swindler Review: The Last Words
In conclusion, you will not easily forget the story told in The Tinder Swindler, and certainly from the moment you see it the way you look at Tinder and, more generally, the dating platforms will be different. You cannot help but think of Cecilie, Pernilia and all the other women who have fallen into Simon’s trap, allowing him to continue his lies and sustain a life of a millionaire in the name of luxury. Given the topics covered, we don’t feel like giving a vote to this review, but we can’t help but invite you to watch the documentary on Netflix.
