A couple visit a solicitor's office to do a deal where they will buy the expensive house of an elderly man who regrets having to sell but needs the money. The couple sign on the dotted line, hand over the case of cash and walk away with the paperwork, but out in the car the wife realises she has left her glasses behind. They return and to their surprise the busy office they left minutes ago is now empty: the penny drops and they know they've been conned. The only regret Ernesto (Ernesto Alterio) has is that he never gets to see the faces of the suckers he fools into parting with their money as he'd love to see their expressions change. However, he will soon get his wish, as he reflects on the latest scam he was involved with while being punched in the head as he drives a getaway car.
So what happened to put Ernesto in this awkward position? That's what Swindled, or Incautos to give the film its Spanish title, is all about. Moving at lightning speed for its first half, the story thunders along through its anti-hero's sparkling career as a con artist, although to call him an artist of any kind is to flatter him unnecessarily. This isn't all about the glamour of puling off confidence tricks, although some of Ernesto's associates have an elegant touch about their style, yet Swindled doesn't paint them as anything other than people never to be trusted, even amongst each other, all this in spite of the surface gloss the film revels in.
Scripted by director Miguel Bardem and Carlos Martín, the plot isn't shy about giving us the details of Ernesto's life so far, going right back to the time he was left in the orphanage by his father, who naturally he never saw again. This is where he found out about the power of lies, as his father had also said that the priests running the establishment were kind and helpful, when in fact they were strict and given to doling out beatings for minor misdemeanours. It was also here that he met Gitano (Alejandro Casaseca), the top dog amongst the bullies, and as they grew up a bond of trust was built between the two, ending up in a run of petty crime when they were young adults. This lasted until Gitano was sent to prison, and Ernesto met a man who would become a father figure to him, Manco (Manuel Alexandre).
Through the elderly conman Manco, who compares himself to a magician, Ernesto meets Federico (Federico Luppi), possibly the best in the business, and he joins his team. Now, as with all conmen movies, there is one big job coming up which could enable the thieves to retire to islands in the sun or whatever, and after a point of paranoia leads Federico and gang to give up on a false business they have set up, they end up at the beach and Federico's old flame Pilar (Victoria Abril) turns up with, wouldn't you know it, the perfect crime. The trouble with scam movies in general, from The Sting onwards, is that once you cotton on that nobody is to be trusted, you can pretty much work out where the con is heading, and Swindled is no exception. In saying that, the multiple twists mount up so thick and fast here that it's possible to be carried along by them, so that when the double crossings occur they're enjoyably well handled. I'm not sure if the world needed another conmen movie, but this one satisfies nevertheless. Music by Juan Bardem.
