His approach to these encounters apparently involved leaning heavily on the trauma explanation: he had been through terrible things, he was different now, please be patient.

Whether his friends were convinced, skeptical but silent, or actively doubting is not clearly documented.

Interviews in the documentary suggest that at least some of the people who interacted with him had significant doubts that they did not act on.

Why It Lasted As Long As It Did

The sixteen months that Bourdin maintained the Barclay identity is a remarkable period — long enough to constitute an entire chapter of his life, long enough for the deception to become almost normalized within the family’s and community’s daily experience.

Several factors contributed to this duration.