This is a film where the less you know about it, the better. Therefore, I don't feel like I should share much about the plot, or even the premise. I will say that it is about a real relationship that starts on facebook, and goes to a place you might not expect. There is no point in trying to dance around the details while writing something meaningful. I will say that if you haven't seen it you should shield yourself from finding out much about it, and rent it when it comes out on dvd. This film was totally not what I expected, but I am glad I got to watch it. I give it a 7 out of 10. From here on we will be going into spoilers. The thing that impressed me most about this film is that the entire story turned out to be real. I was skeptical whether any of the setup of the story was real. It seemed like it all might have been put on just to make this movie possible. The entire thing was raw, and very believable, but I still had my doubts.
The entire film is set around a guy who develops an internet relationship on facebook. This New Yorker has serendipitously been united with this 8 year old girl in Michigan who is an amazing artist. Their facebook relationship expands as he "meets" the older sister of the young girl. There is immediate chemistry. They start to text and talk on the phone. They start to have the excited puppy love associated with every new relationship. However, some suspicious things start to happen so he decides to make a trip.
The thing I love most about this movie is that setup. It could literally go anywhere. It could be a love story, a romantic comedy, or even a horror. Anything could have happened. With something so open ended one's imagination tends to create an ending with more grandeur than reality can deliver. I felt like this was the case when the two eventually met face to face. We have seen all the fantastic stories that came from somebody's imagination. This was great because it was real, it was awkward, and it was heart-breaking. I thought it was really well done. Of all the ending that the three guys making this film could have imagined, the one that played out was something they were lucky to capture on film.
At first I was satisfied with the way Catfish ended. As I thought about it more it seemed like there should have been more questions asked at the end. When they were talking a lot of things got cleared up, but I felt like there was so much more that could have been said. It isn't a very good criticism because I don't know anything specifically. It was pretty well done considering the odd position both of them were put in.
Overall I really enjoyed this film. The film is well constructed, and turned out to have more of an impact than I thought it could. I like the title. It tells us nothing, and seems to make so sense. They they slip it in right at the end. I appreciated that. Try and catch this one when it comes out on dvd. I think you will enjoy it.
Filed Under: Documentary, Drama, Love Story