Movie: Catfish
Grade: B+
Studio: Relativity Media
Release Date: Sept. 17
Facebook, three guys and a couple of handheld cameras serve as the foundation for the latest modern-day thriller and documentary, Catfish.
Aspiring filmmakers Henry Joost (11/4/08) and Ariel Schulman (Jerry Ruis, Shall We Do This With) shot the film, and many will be pleased with the job they did.
When compared to most other documentaries, Catfish follows an aesthetically similar documentary style seen in movies such as Paranormal Activity and Borat.
Although they may be inexperienced, Joost and Schulman display the talent of even the best professional filmmakers; the quality of the directing, the clever angles of the shots and the editing of the film all shine with precision.
Though the film is well constructed, it's Catfish's storytelling that will reel in viewers and keep them hooked.
Schulman's brother, Nev Schulman, plays himself and serves as the film's main character.
The movie begins in New York City when professional photographer Nev Schulman receives a painting depicting a photograph he had recently shot. Thinking it's a gift from a fan, Schulman's interest is piqued when he discovers that it's from a 10-year-old painter from Michigan named Abby.
Schulman begins a relationship with Abby and the members of her family. He speaks with the little girl's mother, Angela, and her older sister, Megan Faccio, who also plays herself. Over the course of a 10-month span, he falls in love with Megan.
When Nev finally has an opportunity to meet with Megan on a business trip, the story spirals toward a surprise twist ending better than anything Shyamalan has written before.
To call the people in Catfish characters would be misleading. They're all real, some even terrifyingly so. However, the film plays a lot with what's genuine reality and what is real for the camera.
This is exactly what makes Catfish work so well. This film isn't a part of Hollywood with a big name director attached: it's two young filmmakers chronicling the story of their friend and brother.
Catfish is one part amateur and another part professional. In other scenarios, this situation would not work and could come off as unbalanced and lopsided. But in this particular outing, the two blend very well to create an incredibly visually pleasing experience.
A healthy portion of Catfish uses Facebook, which can almost be considered its own separate character. By utilizing the social website, Joost and Schulman are able to display the different interactions and messages between the characters and create a very effective story telling device.
Some moments toward the end tend to show that the filmmakers lost touch with making the movie feel real and genuine. In those moments, the veil of obliviousness starts to slip, but it never fully comes off.
Thanks to real world connections and possibilities, the film is able to create an incredible feeling of immersion that helps viewers to connect with the characters.
Catfish is the perfect thriller for today's generation. Even with release alongside The Social Network, this movie is the closest one can come to getting the full experience of the very real ups and downs of Internet connections.
E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
