Catfish – Documentary Film Review
Catfish is an utterly compelling documentary film that has since gone on to spawn a successful spin-off TV series. Find out where it all began in our Catfish – Documentary Film Review here.
The thing with this film is I really can’t tell you too much about it as it would take away all the interest in actually watching it, but I’ll see if I can describe the gist of it briefly. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here.
Catfish is the ‘Other’ Facebook film that came out in 2010. Two documentary film-makers start to document their brother/friend who has developed an interesting friendship with a stranger on the Internet through facebook – A little girl who is apparently a talented young artist… they became online friends when she painted one of his photographs.
The online friendship becomes more interesting when he also becomes friends with the rest of her family and even exchanges phone calls with the mother. He and his film-making partners are based in New York City, while the so-called ‘facebook family’ are in Michigan.
In no time he develops what can only be described as an online romance with the eldest daughter Megan who is 19. Now I can’t really say any more as it would totally ruin the experience of watching Catfish.
I won’t lie, Catfish won’t blow your mind, and in fact, it’s pretty much just what you expect it to be, but what follows will hold you gripped to the end regardless; it’s a really well-made documentary and captivated the Sundance festival during it’s initial release – so much so that J.J. Abrams put his seal of approval on the film to give it a bigger release.
Anyone who enjoys documentary films and in fact, anyone who uses facebook or indeed the Internet in general should definitely take the time to see this excellent little documentary.
In the end, the ultimate question is: Is it real or is it faked?
Answer: It’s certainly plausible, but actually, I don’t think it really matters!
My Rating: 7/10
About the Author: Chris Russell has a passion for movies, films and cool TV shows and loves to share that passion here on Movie Retrospect where readers can join the discussion in the comments below or via our socials. If you enjoyed this post, please follow @MovieRetrospect on X / Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
