http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1584016/
I saw Catfish a year or so ago and was really intrigued by the trailer alone, and found myself asking, is this real? The film displays itself as a documentary but the simple fact that the narrative is so extreme and is filmed from such a random start point brings its authenticity into question.
Marketed as the "Anti Social Network" the film came out around the same time as "The Social Network" and tells the story of someone using Facebook to lie and manipulate the main character "Nev" to the extent of having a relationship with a person who is not who they say they are. The whole thing begins to unravel as Nev looks into details and finds that some of the information is incorrect. The disturbing climax is a simple one in which Nev and his friend and his brother drive to meet the family he is so familiar with only to find something he wasnt expecting.
Whilst this is in no way a conventional documentary so much as a found footage style drama, an effect created by the strong use of restricted narration and a linear structure with all things being seen from from Nev's point of view, it is still supposedly true. The idea that as a viewer your not sure about the authenticity of the narrative ties really nicely into the story in which Nev is not sure how real the things he is being told are. This parallel makes it a really strong and intelligent film whilst making it extremely engaging as the feelings of Nev and the viewer are linked making him instantly identifiable.
Whether the documentary is real or not is an interesting debate, it doesn't completely matter. Of course it would be great to believe it was real but even if it wasn't the theme of lies and double crosses and false truths is what the whole film is about. If it is constructed then it is brilliantly constructed and feels completely real!
I would give it a watch if you fancy something with a little more thought behind it than your average flick.
Marketed as the "Anti Social Network" the film came out around the same time as "The Social Network" and tells the story of someone using Facebook to lie and manipulate the main character "Nev" to the extent of having a relationship with a person who is not who they say they are. The whole thing begins to unravel as Nev looks into details and finds that some of the information is incorrect. The disturbing climax is a simple one in which Nev and his friend and his brother drive to meet the family he is so familiar with only to find something he wasnt expecting.
Whilst this is in no way a conventional documentary so much as a found footage style drama, an effect created by the strong use of restricted narration and a linear structure with all things being seen from from Nev's point of view, it is still supposedly true. The idea that as a viewer your not sure about the authenticity of the narrative ties really nicely into the story in which Nev is not sure how real the things he is being told are. This parallel makes it a really strong and intelligent film whilst making it extremely engaging as the feelings of Nev and the viewer are linked making him instantly identifiable.
Whether the documentary is real or not is an interesting debate, it doesn't completely matter. Of course it would be great to believe it was real but even if it wasn't the theme of lies and double crosses and false truths is what the whole film is about. If it is constructed then it is brilliantly constructed and feels completely real!
I would give it a watch if you fancy something with a little more thought behind it than your average flick.
8/10
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