Nev Schulman takes us through a twisted period in his life. A photographer by trade, he and his brother Ariel are creative types with their own company alongside their friend Henry. Ariel is a filmmaker who takes to recording Nev's every move. Out of the clear blue sky, Nev receives a painting in the mail. It's a representation of one of his published photos, painted by an 8-year old girl named Abby.
Abby and Nev become fast friends. She seems to really have a love of his work, constantly painting and sending him copies. Through the power of Facebook he becomes involved with the rest of Abby's family. She has two brothers, a beautiful and talented older sister named Maggie. Then there's her mysterious, gorgeous mother, Angela. Angela is especially proud and a little boastful of Abby's work. She and Nev begin talking on the phone as well, but it's his relationship with Maggie that really takes off.
Of course it's all done through Facebook statuses and email. His newfound second-family have a ton of friends. Abby's work is taking off, and Nev and Maggie might as well be dating. I suppose thir Facebook relationship status would say something like "In a relationship and it's complicated".
It could've gone off like a combination of the documentary My Kid Could Paint That
mixed with Going the Distance
, but let's just say that something happens that sends Nev's spider-sense into overdrive. Without giving anything away, let's just say that all is not as it appears to be. As he and his friends employ keen internet detective skills(read: Googling) to investigate, only more questions arise.The first thing that crosses your mind when watching a film like this is whether or not any of it is real. There's a certain emotional rawness, especially as the truth becomes more clear, that leads me to believe in it's authenticity. There are some seriously sad, screwed up elements presented that I don't think any filmmaker would be quick to highlight. And yet there are the occasional blips on the radar that make my ears perk up and question if we're all being toyed with. A convenient item left for Nev to find, or perhaps a character a little bit too open with information.
Whether it's real or fake doesn't really matter. As with Joaquin Phoenix's completely fake doc, I'm Still Here, the only thing that matters is whether or not the storyline is interesting. Are the characters compelling? Do you care what happens to them? In the case of Catfish, after a shaky start it had me captivated until the very end. My barebones review is an attempt to hide it's true nature from you because this definitely one time where you'll want to go in cold. All I'll say to conclude is this: Go see it. Keep your preconceived notions of what you think it is firmly in your head so you can be just as surprised as I was.
