Catfish

“What a twist . . .”

Swift Shot:  All I knew about this film was that it complements “The Social Network” – but really Facebook is only a device to get the story started and ultimately digitally unravelled. Since this was a documentary, and the film-makers were along for the same ride as the audience, it’s hard to judge its content – it wasn’t written – it was revealed.  And the fact that the film-makers don’t know how things are going to play out until the end is what makes this film so interesting.

“Catfish” is about the old internet question, how do you know if who you know is who you know, you know?  It centers around New York based dance photographer, Nev Schulman, whose photos catch the attention of an eight-year old rural Michigan girl, Abby who likes to paint.  Abby contacts Nev to send him a painting of one of his highly publicized photos; of course Nev agrees and an odd professional, artistic relationship develops between the two via Facebook and the occasional painting delivered to Nev’s studio.

Nev is is thrilled with the idea of having a fan who is so young and so driven to create art; she serves as an inspiration to his imagination.  Ultimately, this little girl’s fascination with Nev leads Nev’s brother, Rel Schulman (an aspiring film-maker) to document the relationship that Nev and Abby share.

As Rel films the relationship between the two, things get more interesting as Angela, Abby’s mother, serves as a mediator between the two artists – in fact, Nev has never actually spoken to Abby . . .  she is only a little girl and her mother does most of the talking, and the negotiating, for Abby’s artwork to be ordered and sold.  But, Angela has another daughter, a much older daughter, Megan, who is Abby’s half-sister and is gorgeous, according to her Facebook profile.  It’s Megan who captures more than Nev’s artistic, philanthropic side, and Nev finally works up the nerve to call her on the phone.

A long-distance relationship starts to develop with Megan and Nev constantly talking on the cell-phone, via Facebook, and even sharing songs that Megan’s brother has recorded for Nev.  Something doesn’t seem quite right, and Nev does a Google search of the supposedly freshly written song – here is where the film starts to get interesting, as Nev and Rel digitally dissect Megan and learn she is full of lies.

Rather than ending all communications with Abby, Angela, Megan, or any of them, Rel cajoles, bullies, and pesters his brother to keep the line of communication open and to play the thing out, to see just how much about Megan is deceit and how much is truth.  Now, you know something is going to happen, but you don’t know, is this a horror film, a film about international email fraud, aliens, monsters, it could be anything really.  And when the truth is finally revealed, you’ll sit back and take an internal emotional inventory on all your friends, co-workers, even enemies and wonder what kinds of secrets they might be hiding.

The payoff in the film is what makes it so compelling and I am not going to give anything away – it’s tough not to, because so much happens with the reveal that really makes this film engaging, the build-up to the payoff isn’t that exciting.  But, unlike a scripted “twist”, we are given a chance to appreciate how life can sometimes be more disturbing  than fiction.  I would recommend this one to people who like to think, people who like to be involved in a film, that don’t need constant Michael Bay like action or Oliver Stone surrealism to keep your attention.  This one will surprise you, and maybe it is worth a viewing for that reason alone.