The marketing team behind Catfish, a film that has nothing to do with actual catfish, have been placed in a bit of a pickle. Essentially, it’s their job to try and sell a film to the widest audience possible, but in promoting this startling handycam documentary by first-time filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, they’ve been given one crucial rule: do not, under any circumstances, reveal what the film is actually about.
When you think about it, that’s a bit like asking a real estate agent to try and sell a house without letting anyone actually see it. Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t fly with most of us; we like to know exactly what we’re getting before buying a house, or even a movie ticket.
But in this case, such secrecy is necessary. With its revelatory twists and turns, Catfish is one of those films in which the less you know going in, the better. Of course, this also makes my job as a critic difficult, as any in-depth review would certainly spoil the experience. But all you really need to know is this: See. This. Incredible. Movie.
If you’re still not convinced – how dare you not trust me! – allow me to lay out the basics. The documentary follows Nev Shulman, a twenty-something New York photographer living with his brother Ariel and friend Henry, two aspiring filmmakers. When Nev receives a painting of one of his magazine-published photographs from Abby, an eight-year-old girl living in the country, Ariel and Henry decide to turn the cameras on him as he strikes up a friendship with the child prodigy. Over the coming months, Nev finds himself flirting with Abby’s older half-sister Megan, an attractive and softly-spoken singer/songwriter. Clearly smitten with each other, the two begin a long distance relationship over the phone and, of course, on Facebook.
What transpires is so richly compelling – and so telling of today’s internet culture – it almost seems too good to be true. And perhaps it is. Much like last year’s Exit Through the Gift Shop, there are those who believe Catfish to be a complete fabrication. Even I’ll admit I’m a tad dubious, if only because the film is so flawlessly plotted with its staggering twists, fascinating characters and satisfying narrative arc. On the other hand, it’s impossible to deny the palpable sense of authenticity that the film exudes. Likewise, I refuse to believe these young filmmakers are capable of such an elaborate, not to mention perfectly executed, stunt. It’s much easier to dismiss them as bloody lucky documentarians.
Regardless of whether it’s fact or fiction, Catfish is compulsive viewing. Think of it as the perfect companion piece to David Fincher’s The Social Network, the fictionalised account of how Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook when he was just a 19-year-old. Whereas that film introduced us to the people responsible for today’s e-culture, Catfish reveals in the most surprising of ways why a social network created by a lonely teenage introvert is, in a word, fishy.
So maybe it’s about catfish after all. Maybe it isn’t. My lips are sealed.
Follow the author Anders Wotzke on Twitter.
