MovieChat Forums > The Imposter (2012) Discussion > Great Documentary - About the color of h...

Great Documentary - About the color of his eyes...

posted 11 years ago by bureau203
20 replies | jump to latest

The one really glaring problem with his lie, as I see it, is the color of his eyes. Anyone in the family had to know that the kid had blue eyes, and this guy had brown eyes. Your eyes don't change color. Your nose might change shape a little, or maybe if you want to delude yourself you can overlook the fact that his nose looked nothing like the missing kid's nose. But the eyes are a dead giveaway. The fact that they did not immediately know it wasn't him due to his eye color alone is the most interesting thing about this.

"I've seen things that would make you want to write a book on how to puke."

[–] Belletrist0 10 years ago

Frédéric was lying when he claimed that he was injected with a solution. But what he could not possibly have known is that there are liquid solutions on the market -- prostaglandin analogs -- to treat glaucoma. These liquid eye drops, such as Xalatan, Lumigan, Travatan, and Careprost, change the pigment of light eye colours by darkening them to a brown. It's a side-effect (the other is longer eyelashes). Many users experience a darkening of their irises, and it is not uncommon for people to see their once green, amber, or grey eyes turning a dark brown. For some people, stopping the usage of the drops reverts their iris to its original colour, but for the majority, the changes are irreversible.

I doubt Frédéric knew of this, but someone at the FBI could have. Moreover, an inquiry from any eye doctor could have confirmed that this was a possibility. Four years of someone putting liquid drugs into his eyes could have definitely altered the irises. It doesn't help that Frédéric has naturally long eyelashes, too. Hence, the FBI could not use his different eye colour against him. Basically, Frédéric got away based on "dumb luck".

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[–] pt100 10 years ago

Changes (lightening or darkening) of eye colors during puberty, early childhood, pregnancy, and sometimes after serious trauma (like heterochromia) do represent cause for plausible argument to state that some eyes can or do change, based on chemical reactions and hormonal changes within the body.

Studies on Caucasian twins, both fraternal and identical, have shown that eye color over time can be subject to change, and major demelanization of the iris may also be genetically determined.

Most eye-color changes have been observed or reported in the Caucasian population with hazel and amber eyes. However, some infants born with blue eyes have been known to have their eye color change to brown as they age.

[–] hilbertjl 9 years ago

I fully agree that the eye color change should have raised a lot more flags than it did. However, eye color changing through corneal tattoos is not only possible, it's become a fairly lucrative practice. Here's a wiki article on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corneal_tattooing

A quick search will also show clinics that offer the services, some for purely cosmetic reasons and some more akin to reconstructive efforts. So yes, it is possible. Not that I would have believed Bourdin's outrageous story myself, lol.