CATFISH Review

It is hard to explain how this film unfolds and affects you without giving too much away. The thing about the movie is that you don't really know what kind of movie you are getting. It is made to look like a hitchcockian thriller in its trailer and you are promised a conclusion that holds a startling revelation. But again, to explain would be to give something away and the filmmakers don't want that. So I will tell you that this may not be exactly what you expect. It isn't, but it is a very intriguing story and one that explores the many facets of attempting to conduct relationships, whether they be romantic or not through facebook or anything similiar. Whether this is a real documentary or not remains to be revealed to the public, but I can see where at least sections of this film could most definitely be real and if they aren't Mr. Nev Schulman is a great actor and should definitely get more roles soon. The film centers around Schulman, a New York photographer, as he first develops a relationship with an 8 year-old girl who made a painting of one of his photographs. This leads to him getting to know this entire family from Michigan, "the facebook family". This is a well made film though and Nev along with his brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost document this relationship from its beginning and as Nev gets more involved they begin to investigate things and thus this leads to things getting a little strange. The film has elements of comedy, drama, tension-compiling many emotions that make this feel like such a legitimate film. What I can say about the end without giving too much away is that it is very moving and scary at the same time while the audience and the filmmakers feel sympathetic in spite of the situation that has presented itself. I would definitely reccomend the film, but I would say not to go in expecting too much of a scary film. This is a strangely affecting tale of someone dealing with the life they always dreamed of but never saw come true. It is an eye-opening glimpse into the possibilities that viral connections can bring. It is certainly shocking and somewhat scary, but not like you will be expecting when you purchase your ticket.