Dating apps have become a socially acceptable form of finding your partner, but Netflix’s new true-crime documentary The Tinder Swindler makes a compelling case for users to think twice before swiping right on that “perfect match.”
If Netflix has cornered the market on a certain genre in recent years, it’s without question their true-crime department. Titles like Making a Murderer, Tiger King, and Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer are just a few examples of their tremendous output of thrilling docs. What sets them apart from other streamers seems to be their eye for picking out the most outrageous cases that range from serial killers to unsolved crimes and which usually star bizarre characters like a gay Libertarian cowboy who collects tigers. The series’ are easily bingable and once a show catches on and becomes part of the zeitgeist they function like what was once known as a “water cooler show”. I would often overhear or be a part of conversations in the workplace that usually started with something like: “Yo, did you see that new Netflix doc about the Mormons? Crazy shit.” And that’s usually all it takes for me to boot up Netflix instead of endlessly browsing for something because I know if Netflix has a doc on it, a) I know the story is going to be wild and 2) the production value will be a lot higher than other films in the genre. With Netflix’s latest offering The Tinder Swindler, their true-crime hot streak continues.
The film starts with a woman by the name of Cecilie Fjellhøy who talks enthusiastically about her fulfilling experience with Tinder and how it has given her hope of falling in love and finding her “prince charming,” even citing Beauty and the Beast as one of her favorite childhood movies because of the romance at the center of it. She then recounts matching with an Israeli man by the name of Simon Leviev, who presents himself as a rich man of luxury and known as “the prince of diamonds” as the son of a diamond billionaire. Could this be the prince charming she always dreamed of? He quickly whoos her with a flight on his private jet and a passionate night in an expensive hotel, but red flags do start to present themselves. Even so, Cecilie’s hope doesn’t waver, and months later, she is playing Belle and looking to start a life with this man she only recently met on Tinder, but his plans lie in (as the title reveals) swindling her.
Pernilla Sjöholm in The Tinder Swindler
Next, we meet Pernilla Sjöholm who is another beautiful blonde with the same optimism as Cecilie in using Tinder to find true love and who also meets Simon Leviev under similar circumstances, but the two soon realize that their relationship is better off as platonic. The movie does a concise job in its two-hour runtime of mapping out Simon’s behavior through reenactments, and several times the ladies say that they felt they were in a movie by being exposed to this lavish lifestyle. The swindler in question refused to be interviewed but is seen in video footage from his Instagram, videos the women took during their time with him, and also heard through voice recordings captured on WhatsApp.
A lot of these details may seem like spoilers, but all of this information is revealed relatively quickly and in the trailer. The second half of the film is really what set this movie apart from others like it by investigating more into who Simon really is and trying to find him and bring him to justice with the help of journalists. Ayleen Charlotte is the last woman who is interviewed as a victim of Simon’s scheme, but her revenge plot made her the standout star of the whole film. Her smile and giddy laughs as she reveals her grand plan was an unexpected catharsis in an otherwise sad case of women falling victim to a scam.
The three lead women and the allies they meet along the way weave a story that seems simple on the surface, but in typical Netflix, fashion unravels in an exhilarating and unbelievable way. And those who feel bad for these women will be rewarded with the fact that this information is finally getting revealed and an ending that manages to surprise even after you think you have the story figured out. There are some threads that are never followed up on, and the amount of information revealed in the second half could have called for a longer runtime, but the quick runtime does add urgency to the story.
The Tinder Swindler manages to have elements of romance, espionage, documentary, and journalism with women who you care about and root for; it’s like Catch Me If You Can from the female perspective. It doesn’t condemn the victims or the technology that was used but rather shows how these apps can be used for good and evil. I’m not sure if this movie will change people’s dating habits online, but as long as love is blind, there will be con artists willing to take advantage. Hopefully, the success of this movie will at least put an end to one of these scumbags.
Final Rating:
‘The Tinder Swindler’ is available to stream now on Netflix.
Rated TV-MA.
(Photos: Netflix)
