Catfish is an awkward documentary to review, simply because of the fact that this is one film that you need to see without knowing too much about what is going to happen. Having said that, this is one of the better modern documentaries I have seen, despite the fact that at times I was wondering whether or not the camera work was going to make me sea-sick.
Made by New York filmmakers Henry Joost (NY Export: Opus Jazz) and Ariel Schulman (Jerry Ruis, Shall We Do This?) the docco’s origins began when Joost and Schulman decided to follow the emotional journey that Ariel’s brother, Nev (Una & Jacques), embarked on after one of his photos was published in a newspaper. Not long after it was published, an eight-year-old girl, named Abby, contacted him and asked permission to paint it. After she sends him the amazing painting he begins an online friendship with her and her family, and ends up falling in love with older sister, Megan.
The trailer for Catfish makes you believe that the docco is set to become a horror-mockumentary in the vein of The Blair Witch Project or The Last Exorcism, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is a heartfelt journey that follows the emotions of a man as he takes some huge steps in his life… in fact it’s rare to see a man fall naturally in love on the screen, but that’s certainly what you see here. While some criticize the reason that this docco was made, you certainly can’t say it wasn’t made with heart, even the relationship between the two brothers (Ariel and Nev) is right there for all to see. With all this emotion so openly on the line, it is little wonder that you find yourself genuinely affected by the ending.
The biggest fault you will find with Catfish is the way it is filmed. The use of computer-like graphics at times (imitating Facebook and Google Maps) works well (and fits in with the whole ‘online romance’ section really well), but some of the jerky camera movements do make you feel a little sea-sick. The annoying part about this is that for most of the film they could have used a tripod an easily eradicated this.
Catfish may not be everybody’s cup-of-tea but it is a documentary with heart, and one that certainly gets a very important social message across to its audience without boring them into a coma. At times the filming style can be annoying, but it is worth enduring to see a docco that you can’t help be emotionally affected by. If you have a Facebook account then you really do need to see this film.
Year: 2010
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Stars: N/A
Classification: PG
Runtime: 87 mins
Rating: 