Playlist: Catfish

Considering this was one of both my (and Vin's) most anticipated films of last autumn, I did a remarkable job of failing to have any idea what it really was about.

What I knew was that it revolved around a photographer (Nev Schulman) who begins receiving paintings of his pictures from a young girl named Abby and who then begins a relationship with Abby's older sister, Megan, via the phone and Facebook (you know, the other Facebook movie). In fact, the two fall in love. 

Okay, now check out the trailer:




Very Blair Witchian, no? I was thinking faux doc, but as always, was still intrigued by just how they were going to twist up the ending. By now we've seen it all, right? Turns out the twist was that there was no twist. How's that for a post-modern swerve? Well, that's not entirely accurate (or, possibly, even an actual thing).

The filmmakers (Nev's brother Ariel Shulman and Henry Joost) have insisted the events depicted in the film are true, so until proven otherwise, that's how it has to be viewed. I don't understand what the critics shown in the trailer were talking about unless they saw a completely different cut of the film (or they just wanted their names in a trailer). The ending wasn't shocking or haunting, but a somewhat natural conclusion to the story arc. Which isn't to say it's not worthwhile. It turns out that the movie they started didn't need a gimmick. The real ending is sad and oddly sweet, and touching in a way more experienced screenwriters of fiction struggle to achieve.