Catfish
Directors: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
Details: US / 87mins (12A).
In 2007 Nev, a 24-year-old New-York based photographer, was contacted by the 8-year-old Abby via Facebook: Abby is a budding artist from Michigan and would like to paint a portrait of a picture Nev took for a dance magazine. They begin a correspondence, which leads Nev into the contact of Abby's older half-sister Megan, an attractive model/musician/artist/dancer in her 20s. Nev and Megan's friendship takes a turn for the flirty and soon a bona fide online relationship begins to take shape; he also befriends Abby's mother, Angela, and a host of Megan's friends.
However, when Nev discovers that a song Megan emailed him, a track she swears she sings on, is actually someone else plucked from Youtube, the house of cards the romance is based begins to teeter. Nev and the crew decide to have it out with Megan and travel to Michigan to ask some awkward questions...
To give any more away would be a criminal offence, as Catfish takes an unexpected turn off the reservation and down a rabbit hole. What starts out as a bit of fun for Nev, the documentary begins to take a toll on his life, leading to arguments with his directing brother. But this is less about Nev, Abby or Megan, but more about identity in the digital age. If you can be anyone on Facebook, and you spend most of the day being that person, when are you yourself? Can you lose yourself completely? If so, does it matter? All interesting questions.
An uncomfortable watch is Catfish (whose title seems unfitting until the final sequences) but a totally engrossing one. And if it is staged, that's some of the finest naturalistic acting caught on film this year.
Review by Gavin Burke
Your Comments
Lord Sabre
I enjoyed it but knowing it was fake kind of killed it for me. It has to be fake, right?
Posted 20/12/2010 13:04:46
muireann bernadino
Nev Shulman, a 24 year old photographer from New York is contacted on Facebook by Abbey, an 8 year girl from Michigan who wants to make a portrait of a photograph he took of dancers. He agrees to allow her and the undertaking is completed and sent to Nev who is very impressed with Abbey's talent. He is contacted shortly after this by Abbey's half-sister Megan, a very attractive twenty something year old who is equally as creative as her little sister. Nev is also introduced to Megan's family and friends including Abbey's mother Angela. Numerous messages are sent back and forward with all of them hit it off very well. Nev and Megan get on particularly well and they soon develop a flirtatious on-line relationship. Nev is very obviously taken by Megan and is very keen to meet up with her. The first signs of something being amiss begin when Megan sends Nev on a clip of herself singing a song she claims as her own which Nev clearly recognizes as a tune downloaded from another source. Nev gets uneasy. With the help of his brother and a friend he decides to take things in hand and to investigate further. To elaborate further on the story would be to spoil this excellent film for any potential viewer. But basically illustrates how identity can be created, distorted and improvised in the on-line world of Facebook and similar blogs. All is not as it appears. This film is both very entertaining and thought provoking. I was absolutely riveted by this film and am still thinking about it several days later. 'A must see film'.
Posted 23/12/2010 21:30:36
Nuala
Didn't think this lived up to the star rating. It was an interesting story but fairly predictable and I didn't find it particularly thought provoking. You would definitely have to wonder whether it was all staged (Nev appears more like a handsome leading man playing to the camera than the subject of a documentary). One of the more disappointing views in recent months - can't understand the hype
Posted 05/01/2011 23:02:32
Fozz
Taking it as true, this is an involving character study and is just mostly sad. Well constructed and interesting throughout, 'Catfish' is best appreciated as a straight-up tale of desperation concealed within deception.
Posted 16/01/2011 22:26:56
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- amyfairycakes
Though Catfish has been greeted with a lot of skepticism from audiences and critics who suspect that the documentary... MORE05/01/2011 13:24:22
