Film Review: Whole Truth Becomes a Modern-Era Reality in ‘Catfish’

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CHICAGO – “Catfish” is a real oddball of a film, set in the Twilight Zone of our own virtual cyberspace. Three twentysomething men navigate through the mysterious rigors of a journey they never expected to take. Nev Schulman is the main subject and directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost provide the video exposition in this true story.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.5/5.0
Rating: 4.5/5.0

Nev Schulman, a New York City photographer, receives a package one day containing a remarkable painting of a photo he took of dancers. What makes it remarkable is that it was painted by an eight year old prodigy in Michigan, who has gained notoriety with her artwork in the small town. Nev’s response is curious and touching. He wants to get to know the young artist, and it turns out she has a mother who manages her situation, and also an older half sister.

As the paintings begin to multiply and come in at a rapid rate, Nev and his videographer partners, brother Ariel and Henry Joost, begin to do a documentary about these idiosyncratic artworks. The first contact with family is duly noted, and invitations from the various family members to join up as Facebook friends becomes the standard operating procedure. Nev begins to be particularly interested in half-sister Megan, a singer/songwriter who begins a long distance correspondence via texting and Facebook.

The situation becomes hot and heavy, and Nev expresses some true feelings about Megan in the prose of our modern times, the instant messaging system on his iPhone. When the team is assigned to a documentary shoot in Vail, Colorado, the opportunity to visit Michigan, meet the eight-year old artist and feed Nev’s infatuation proves too tempting to pass up. But some logic cracks in the way Megan handles the situation begin to show, and suddenly a mystery emerges.

The rest of the journey is the gang’s discovery of who Megan is and how it impacts Nev and the lives of her family members. The kicker is that everything in the story is true, and unfolds in a way that fiction would never believe.

“Catfish” continues a limited release in Chicago on September 24th, check local listings for theaters and show times. Featuring Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Rated “PG-13”

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Catfish”

On the Road with Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost (backseat) and Nev Schulman in ‘Catfish’
On the Road with Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost (backseat) and Nev Schulman in ‘Catfish’
Photo Credit: © Universal Pictures

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Catfish”

AvisAustin's picture

Great post

Jan Shaw's picture

Read IamRogue’s

Read IamRogue’s (spoiler-free) movie review of CATFISH! Social media is taken to a whole new level with this documentary & critics are raving about it! http://bit.ly/93x17h

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