2024 Movie
Dir. Bryan Storkel · United States of America · English
An entertaining true-crime doc that depends too much on the idiocy of its criminals
True crime stories set in the world of crypto are still relatively unexplored and therefore have a real contemporary edge to them; they feel more relatable because these criminals share the same online spaces we do. Bitconned taps into this with a more casual, carefree energy, but it also brings up the same concerns—namely: how helpful is it, really, to give this much attention to a con artist currently running free? The film spends most of its time explaining how its main characters built their scam then failed spectacularly at covering their tracks, but after a while even the entertainment of others’ mistakes needs to be supported by more thorough analysis, which this documentary doesn’t provide.
In this true-crime documentary, three guys exploit the freewheeling cryptocurrency market to scam millions from investors and bankroll lavish lifestyles.
Ray Trapani leads a briefly successful but highly incompetent group of people in scamming millions in cryptocurrency from their investors.
Still, even if the film only begins a more substantial discussion of its subject matter at the end (in particular, how these kinds of financial crimes are pardoned with a pat on the back under certain circumstances), it remains fun to watch all the way through. It's a credit to Weston Currie's editing that a story that involves quite a bit of tech jargon still moves smoothly—and maintains a snappy sense of comedic timing too. How Bitconned's characters choose to deal with accusations that their CEO isn't real is especially baffling to watch play out, with the editing making each punchline crazier than the last.
How can a man be so wrong but also so loud about being wrong.
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
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