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Monday, September 20, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW 
Catfish
Falling Afoul Of Reality, And Courting Deception

   Nev Schulman and Megan Faccio in a scene from "Catfish" . 
Rogue Pictures/Universal

by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW
Monday, September 20, 2010

"Catfish" emerges as an unremarkable mystery experience.  Billed as a "reality" drama, it is based less in "real life" than as a plausible scenario some ardent Internet surfers may readily identify with.

Essentially a home video diary (shot with a mix of HD cameras and 16mm/35mm film), "Catfish" plays like a documentary about Nev (pronounced "Neev") Schulman, who it is said in 2007 began a liaison with Megan Faccio via Facebook (a site that will be front and center on the big screen next month in David Fincher's new film "The Social Network".) 

The curiosities about Megan lead Nev, a scruffy, easy-going and playful young man to meet her offline after their online temperatures rise.  Like "The Blair Witch Project", incidents unfold for the audience as the central character experiences them.  The audience however, will likely be able to discern the conclusion of "Catfish" long before Nev does. 

"Catfish" is the title of an explanation a character gives near the film's conclusion.  The speech we hear is supposedly an advisory about life, its waywardness and unpredictability, but for me it felt more like a tired line in a film that lacked punch and drama.  Audiences will struggle for the most part to be invested and interested in "Catfish", whose ambitions are loftier than the results it produces.  A darling of some critics at Sundance in January, after seeing "Catfish" moviegoers will wonder what all the fuss (and "secrets") was about.

"Paranormal Activity" -- to cite a recent example of big screen home video docudrama -- is a better example of the type of "reality" cinema that "Catfish" might be aspiring to.  In that film, director Oren Peli stayed away from explanation and avoided blanketing his characters in self-awareness, so that we truly didn't know what to expect.  In "Catfish" you get the sense that at least a few characters are in on some kind of juvenile joke.  There's a lot of nudge-nudge wink-wink jocularity and the psychology of self and self-awareness are very much front and center.

Granted, there are some thought-provoking moments here, and one well-acted exchange offers a sense of warmth, possibility and even an ever-so delicate touch of sexual tension, but aside from that instance and a few others, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost's psychological drama is a pedestrian exercise that has been better executed elsewhere in the annals of big screen cinema.

"Catfish" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association Of America for some sexual references.  The film's running time is one hour and 42 minutes.

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