The tagline on Catfish's deceptively dark poster read "Don't let anyone tell you what it is." The studio is totally correct in saying this, but make sure everyone tells you how good it is. Catfish is a wild pastiche of genres crammed into a brilliant criticism of the Youtube Generation's presumption that the internet is a safe place. Unlike many other TV shows and newspaper articles that have tackled a similar topic, Catfish takes this criticism to a whole new level by documenting the entire process of catching a "catfish," a person who is not quite what he seems to be. Although the movie should be questioned in terms of its veritableness, it is thrilling, sad, and often funny account of a Facebook romance with a person who does not match their profile.
*Catfish is a hard film to describe without giving too much away. In short, the film's advertising inaccurately portrays the film. It is the supposedly true story of Nev Schulman and his Facebook friend Megan Faccio. Nev, a photographer that lives in New York, met Megan through her half-sister Abby, an eight year-old who sent Nev a painting of one of his photographs that was published in the New York Times. Nev begins to become romantically intertwined with Megan. But the more he finds out about her, the less he realizes he actually knows about Megan.
Filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have done an amazing job making this film. From the films pixelated studio credits to the film's closing shots, each sequence is more interesting than last. Emotions run wild in this film from the characters, but also from the audience, most of which is done through clever editing and unique filmmaking methods. The best example is the garage scene shown in the trailer, which so brilliantly constructs suspense through quick cuts and dark shots. Catfish is dissimilar to other documentaries because it does not rely on interviews for this type of emotion, but it instead relies on the audience to react in a certain way. It does not demand a loud or obvious reaction, but rather a subtle one, something that can be discussed with friends afterwards. And unlike many other documentaries that simply present the facts, Catfish supplies a interesting commentary towards the end of the film.
Catfish is all the proof one needs that documentaries are not always boring. This documentary is fascinating in many ways, most of which cannot be said without revealing the end. I have many more things to say about this film, but a lot of them deal with the ending, which is jarring, but not exactly the big reveal that Rogue Entertainment's advertising has depicted it to be. The movie sometimes verges on being a little too real. And by this I mean that it could follow in suit of I'm Still Here and be a complete hoax. Whether or not it is fictional does not affect my feelings about this movie, but it certainly did not feel like it was entirely a true story all the time.
How well do you know your Facebook friends? Are you sure they are who they say they are? Catfish leaves you in a state of paranoia wondering if the internet is as safe as you thought it was. In a time where people are worried about identity theft and take so many precautions online, Catfish could not be a more timely film and one that definitely needs to be seen by everyone. It probably is best to go into the theater without seeing any advertising, but the film can still be enjoyed (if that is the correct word for it) regardless of seeing the advertising. Though The Social Network may have overshadowed Catfish by being the bigger Facebook movie, Catfish is arguably better in some ways and more worthy of attention. Sad, suspenseful, and dramatic, Catfish is never short of amazing, making it easily the best documentary of 2010.
*Note: The summary above and the trailers do not spoil the movie's plot, however it is recommended the film should be seen with as little knowledge as possible.
*Catfish is a hard film to describe without giving too much away. In short, the film's advertising inaccurately portrays the film. It is the supposedly true story of Nev Schulman and his Facebook friend Megan Faccio. Nev, a photographer that lives in New York, met Megan through her half-sister Abby, an eight year-old who sent Nev a painting of one of his photographs that was published in the New York Times. Nev begins to become romantically intertwined with Megan. But the more he finds out about her, the less he realizes he actually knows about Megan.
Filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have done an amazing job making this film. From the films pixelated studio credits to the film's closing shots, each sequence is more interesting than last. Emotions run wild in this film from the characters, but also from the audience, most of which is done through clever editing and unique filmmaking methods. The best example is the garage scene shown in the trailer, which so brilliantly constructs suspense through quick cuts and dark shots. Catfish is dissimilar to other documentaries because it does not rely on interviews for this type of emotion, but it instead relies on the audience to react in a certain way. It does not demand a loud or obvious reaction, but rather a subtle one, something that can be discussed with friends afterwards. And unlike many other documentaries that simply present the facts, Catfish supplies a interesting commentary towards the end of the film.
Catfish is all the proof one needs that documentaries are not always boring. This documentary is fascinating in many ways, most of which cannot be said without revealing the end. I have many more things to say about this film, but a lot of them deal with the ending, which is jarring, but not exactly the big reveal that Rogue Entertainment's advertising has depicted it to be. The movie sometimes verges on being a little too real. And by this I mean that it could follow in suit of I'm Still Here and be a complete hoax. Whether or not it is fictional does not affect my feelings about this movie, but it certainly did not feel like it was entirely a true story all the time.
How well do you know your Facebook friends? Are you sure they are who they say they are? Catfish leaves you in a state of paranoia wondering if the internet is as safe as you thought it was. In a time where people are worried about identity theft and take so many precautions online, Catfish could not be a more timely film and one that definitely needs to be seen by everyone. It probably is best to go into the theater without seeing any advertising, but the film can still be enjoyed (if that is the correct word for it) regardless of seeing the advertising. Though The Social Network may have overshadowed Catfish by being the bigger Facebook movie, Catfish is arguably better in some ways and more worthy of attention. Sad, suspenseful, and dramatic, Catfish is never short of amazing, making it easily the best documentary of 2010.
*Note: The summary above and the trailers do not spoil the movie's plot, however it is recommended the film should be seen with as little knowledge as possible.