Smoke and Mirrors

Might also be called The Man with Thousand Faces. Just when I thought Netflix wasn't going to have anything I wanted to see, I find this. It's an at least somewhat true story of Francisco Paesa, who strung along a disgraced Spanish Police Commissioner for almost a year, acting as though he was protecting him, while the whole time angling to swipe the guy's money for his own retirement.

The story is narrated by an associate of Paesa's, a pilot named Jesus. If the movie didn't tell you what it was about at the start, you'd still get the sense of how Luis was being fooled. That distance works to convey how Paesa was able to fool Luis (the ex-Commissioner), as we see Paesa tell him something is happening, or that he is going to speak to someone about a plea deal. But we (and Luis, and Jesus) are never in on these conversations, we only have Paesa's word they are what they are claimed to be.
I feel like the movie spoils that a little by having Jesus explain up front what they did, before the story even begins being told.

However, the film does introduce a hint of doubt (at least to me), because the guys Paesa uses frequently seem like such a bunch of fuck-ups it's almost plausible he's simply failing at what he's doing. We see he and Jesus trying to con some men into investing their money, only to find those men did their research on them and know he's not at all what he presents himself as. He relies on an 'almost lawyer' who is an alcoholic, a stockbroker who is in a crappier apartment and clothes every time we see him, and a frickin' cook. Not to mention Jesus, who can't keep his mouth shut or his dick in his pants.

Really, all the three main guys in this movie - Paco, Jesus, and Luis - come off as utter disasters in their personal lives. Each of them is or ends up estranged from their wives. Because they can't stop behaving disgracefully, and they keep promising they're going to change, but it doesn't happen. They can't be bothered to really engage in their families' lives because they're too busy with this phony spy bullcrap that's just an excuse to line their pockets. Push comes to shove, they'll always look out for themselves first and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces.

There's not really anyone you feel good about seeing win.