Catfish

Catfish is a documentary, of sorts, but not like the informative ones that warn of disaster, or the entertaining, message-y ones in the style of Michael Moore. Catfish feels personal, like a home movie made by some very talented friends, a project that started out as a goof but took off when they realized they had stumbled onto a remarkable story. 

And this is how it starts: Nev Schulman is a twenty something New York City photographer specializing in elegant shots of dancers. One day he gets a package in the mail from Abby, an eight year old girl who lives in Michigan; it’s a watercolor painting of one of his photographs that had recently appeared in a national magazine. Nev is flattered and decides to encourage Abby; they exchange emails and become friends on Facebook, and he sends her more pictures to paint. Before long he is also Facebook friends with Abby’s mother, Angela, her father, her brother and, most notably, her nineteen year old sister Megan, who is very interested in Nev. The two launch into a relationship, using Facebook, text messages and actual phone calls to pursue what becomes a very steamy connection. This is what gets Nev’s brother, Rel and his partner Henry to turn on the cameras; they figure they have an opportunity to chronicle a 21st century Internet love story.

There are a lot of great things about Catfish, but my favorite is that the story unfolds for the audience exactly the same way it did for Nev and Rel and Henry; as the layers peel away and the virtual becomes real, we are right there with them. Rel said he always wanted to make a movie about his brother because he’s “just very charismatic and gets into a lot of trouble and gets himself into situations.” Big brother is right – Nev is a natural on screen, disarmingly honest, and we can’t help but root for him even when he is at his most reckless. Is it a story for our time? Well, yes and no: it’s about love, and loneliness, timeless human issues; but it’s also about how the modern virtual world provides unexpected outlets to cope. Catfish was a big hit at Sundance and it opens in a lot of cities around the country September 24. Check it out, it’s an interesting, fun time at the movies - but one important caveat: don't try to find out (or even guess) the ending; you'll ruin your own fun. B+






Image credit: Rogue