Catfish

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****½

I'm going to go even farther than my usual don't-spoil-the-movie commandment by saying damn little about the "plot" of Catfish, the one-of-a-kind documentary from first-time/full-length moviemakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost and starring Shulman's immensely photogenic and charismatic photographer brother Yaniv (also known as Nev).

I knew nothing about this movie when I attended a press preview, along with a full-house audience, a few weeks prior to the theatrical debut of the film. I suspected it might be a documentary, though I also wondered whether it might not be faux or mock. After a few minutes of watching, it certainly seemed real enough. And yet, in our prankish internet age, including this year's I'm Still Here, who knows? So I was prepared to go with it either way -- doc or narrative. But so quickly did I get wrapped up in this tale of a filmmaker and his friend who begin to follow the love life of the filmmaker's brother as it blossoms and evolves over the Internet that I soon did not care a whit whether the movie was real or fake. Either way, it was excellent -- and in my book that's what matters.

It is interesting and timely that one of the most buzzed-about movies of the year, The Social Network opened on the heels of Catfish. The David Fincher film and this movie complement each other in some very interesting ways.

After seeing Catfish, I do believe it is a real documentary, but as I say, if it were exposed as a fake, I would still bow down to the filmmakers for creating such an amazing tale, no more of which you will find detailed here. Read as little as possible about the film prior to seeing it, please, because it deserves your tabula rasa going in. So, instead of events, I'll talk about the filmmaking, the themes and audience reaction -- in hopes of not spoiling your pleasure of discovery.

Catfish is about the way we live now -- at least, the way that more and more of us, particularly the younger crowd, are living it. As movie-makers, Schulman and Joost do the hand-held thing, of course, as this is off-the-cuff filmmaking. But in Schulman's brother Nev, shown above and below, they have found a "leading man" of such charisma, charm and beauty (of body and face) that he easily commands the screen. And since he appears in almost every scene, this makes viewing Catfish a pleasure, even in its creepier and/or ultra-homemade moments. Nev also allows his film-making friends (and thus us) to see him at his most vulnerable, from absentmindedly scratching his nether regions to bouncing into -- and then back from -- some very disappointing events.

The scene in which Nev talks about his "phone" sex (above) is funny, sad, smart and extremely revealing. If he'd done full-frontal with a boner, I doubt he'd have come across as any more "naked" than he does in these moments. If this film, in fact, were revealed as a hoax (web rumors have already begun, as they seem to do about literally everything these days), Nev Schulman's "performance" might seem even more impressive. (And he is performing, of course; you can't not be when you're aware that a camera -- whether narrative or documentary -- is pointed at you.)

As the film moves along on its journey, which is both literal and metaphoric, it is by turns delightful, extremely creepy, and finally moving in ways to which few other documentaries come close, partly because this is a new world we have entered -- the virtual one of the internet -- and we're still quite "young" in our understanding, appreciation and negotiation of it. Plus, as soon as we seem to have conquered it, some new technology opens the door to another room full of possible booby traps.

What the film's title signifies does not come clear until almost the finale. Even then, while it would appear to apply to one person, after a bit of mulling you'll realize that it might as easily be used to describe some other people in the film. In either case, it offers poignant food for thought.

Watching Catfish with a "real" audience, rather than in a screening room or at home, was an interesting experience, too. The audience of which I was a part was audible in its fear, delight and surprise during the first half of the film; during the second portion it grew quieter -- for reasons that will be apparent when you see the movie. However you view it, its effect should still be thoughtful and powerful.

The new DVD from Universal includes one bonus feature "Secrets Revealed: Exclusive Interview with the Filmmakers" which sheds a little bit of light on the film, though more extras would've been nice.