REVIEW: ‘The Tinder Swindler’ A Jaw-dropping Must Watch

Dating over the decades has certainly changed, especially with the advent of the internet, and subsequently smartphone apps. Ideally, these smart apps are supposed to connect us to a global audience and present us with more opportunities. That latter word, however, I always find interesting, as the connotation of it presents typically as positive. The reality is that dependent on your perspective, opportunities can be incredibly deviant and terrifying. Enter, The Tinder Swindler, a true crime documentary movie that will left me well and truly shell shocked.

Directed by Felicity Morris, The Tinder Swindler is an exposé of Simon Leviev, from the perspective of two of his victims, Cecilie Fjellhøy, and Pernilla Sjoholm. The two women portray their whirlwind encounter with a man they met on Tinder who promised them the world, took them out for Michelin star food, and flew them on private jets around the world. But what starts out as a Prince Charming fantasy, slowly starts to unveil itself as a nightmare scenario whereby each woman was fraudulently scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The recounting of events begins at the logical place, Tinder. Fjellhøy provides her insights into dating in the modern age, and what kind of person she’s usually looking for in a partner. As someone who’s been married for over a decade and was dating before smartphones existed, the insight for someone like me was fascinating and provided some visibility into what type of research and decision-making today’s generation has to put into finding a match.

What was truly horrifying, however, was how extensively the profile of Simon Leviev’s online persona was woven into the tapestry of the internet. Articles about the heir of a diamond fortune, and a social media account that boasted a life of luxury. Leviev went on to sweep Fjellhøy off of her feet in what at the time must have felt like an unreal whirlwind romance that defies the odds.

The portrayal of the early story with the testimonials from the women is done so well within the first half of the documentary. You really get a sense of the magic and romance and how easy it was to get swept up in the luxury of the lifestyle. The blending of the WhatsApp text messages and the voice notes mixed with smartphone footage makes you feel like you’re in that moment with them.

Morris very keenly sets out to create a sense of attachment to create that bond of understanding of how these women got involved in the life of Leviev. Which is key, because once you’re invested, that’s when Morris starts to lift the curtain, revealing the truth to the matte. It’s such an engaging story as well, and as you start to feel empathy for these women, you see how they slowly start to really get dragged into the con as Leviev begins to need money as his “enemies” come after him.

As the larger story unfolds, and you see the scope of the life of Leviev and the unimaginable amount of money he defrauded from his victims, you also start to realize the depths of scheming and his con is so much more evil than you actually can fathom from a legal standpoint.

The editing of this true crime documentary is done so unbelievably well that once you’re hooked in, the story never lets you go. I couldn’t tear my eyeballs away from my screen as every moment following seems to increase the intensity. Two hours flew by.

The Tinder Swindler is an unbelievable true crime documentary. I guarantee after watching this you will be straight on Instagram and checking articles because this story defies logic, I was flabbergasted. As a documentary, it’s portrayed so well as it creates understanding, empathy, and has a powerful amount of contrast and darkness as it oozes tension and suspense. An absolute must-watch.

The Tinder Swindler is available now exclusively on Netflix.