162) CatfishDirector: Ariel Schulman and Henry JoostYear: 2010Plot Summary: In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives.
Catfish is a horror movie for our times. You won't find crazy chainsaw wielding monsters lurking in the darkness in this one though and you certainly won't see any shadows crawling along the walls. Instead, this documentary is about the terrifying everyday dangers that people face in the world of social networking.
Nev Schulman is an up-and-coming, young photographer from New York City. After seeing one of his photos, 8 year old Michigan-based artist Abby paints a portrait of the work and Nev is overwhelmed. They become Facebook friends and soon, Abby's good looking half-sister, Megan, attracts Nev's attention. As he and Megan hit it off, his brother and best friend, Ariel and Henry, decide to film the growing and deepening relationship.
However, things soon take a turn for the sinister as Nev discovers that Megan isn't all she's made up to be.
Catfish tells the same kind of story that we've seen in the news time and time before. However, this documentary succeeds because it has such a huge heart. In the first 20 minutes of the movie you truly feel for Nev and connect with his love for Megan. These moments are filled with such warmth that, even knowing that things are soon to turn ugly, you still feel moved as he hears her voice for the first time and compulsively scrolls through pages of her Facebook photos. When the aforementioned turn does occur, therefore, a chilling moment in the movie, we truly feel Nev's confusion and experience how crushed the man is.
It also succeeds as being a thoroughly engrossing mystery story. Like Nev, you won't want to just leave the story at the moment that he realises that things aren't what he thought they were, you instead want to dig deeper and find out who 'Megan' really is, who is real and who is fictional, and just what their plans were for the New York photographer. As this slowly unfolds before your eyes, Catfish becomes an enthralling experience that is tense, shocking and disturbing.
At first, I found the closing act of Catfish a little underwhelming. Maybe, with no help from the marketing people who built up these final moments to be something explosive and frightening, I was expecting something a bit more dramatic or action-packed. However, I now see the beauty in it: 'Megan' and her family are real people. These aren't monsters or villains, these are just ordinary human beings who are messed up by the way their lives have turned out. Sure, it certainly leaves you with the impression that Nev and the filmmakers were lucky that these people weren't violent or dangerous, but it is equally fascinating and chilling to pull back the skin of these people and see what has led them to coursing naive people on the internet.
Despite its low production values, Catfish is a spectacularly made documentary from two very talented filmmakers. Its sense of emotion and its ability to place you right alongside Nev is unbelievable while the use of Facebook photos and Google Maps instead of establishing shots and stock pictures gives it a contemporary feel.
A haunting documentary that will stay in your mind for weeks after its finished. You won't want to accept your next anonymous friend request on Facebook.
4/5
3 comments:
Hmm, very interesting. Can you spoil me with some specific details on this? I'm very intrigued.
I would, but it would totally ruin the movie for you. The more you know about it the less of an effect it will have because Catfish is all about the build-up.
It's only 80 minutes long. You should try and find it somewhere.
It's very good!
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