Review: ‘Catfish’
“I thank God everyday for the catfish”
If you’re looking at this review to see where on I stand on the “real or not real” debate, you’re about to be disappointed. Frankly, I don’t care whether it’s real or not. Instead I am more interested in the ideas that ‘Catfish’ presents and how effetely it conveys a message. In reality, it doesn’t matter if the film is “real” or not, it feels real.
Why are all the good ones outrageously schizophrenic? This is certainly a question I’ve asked myself ever since my first wife divorced me over milk and cookies in kindergarden. It would be too easy to go with they Jay-Z approach to love (I got 99 problems and a bitch ain’t one). So I weave in and out of relationships, finding myself along the way and becoming what I hope will be a better man for the next girl. It’s important to recognize that one of the most human emotions is the desire for acceptance and love. This desire is the idea that runs throughout ‘Catfish’. You may even call it a love story.
‘Catfish’ starts out with an introduction to Nev Schulman, his brother Ariel, and friend Henry Joost. They are all budding film makers which sets the appropriate backstory for why this was all caught on film. We are thrown immediately into the mix of a developing relationship, one between Nev and a young girl named Abby who has an appreciation for Nev’s photography. Abby is a painter who becomes Nev’s protégée, turning his photos into canvas art. Nev and Abby’s communication is 100% virtual, emails mostly, and innocent. Nev even decides that it’s best to contact Abby’s mother to make sure their “relationship” is all kosher. Time rolls on and Nev gets introduced to Abby’s Various family members. Soon, Nev begins to fall for Abby’s older sister, Megan. Though he has never met any of the family in person his contact with them seems fairly inviting and personal. Megan and Nev start to make plan for their future together. But things are not always as they seem.
SPOILERS START HERE. (you can safely check out the last thee sentences)
The only real player in this game is the mother, Angela. Nev unsuspectingly continues to be fooled by Angela for months, talking to “Megan” on the phone and exchanging racy text messages. But all good things must come to an end and Nev begins to uncover the web of lies devised by Angela when he decides to pay a surprise visit to the family. It’s reveled that Angela created the families extensive network of friends as well as the family itself. Megan is not real and Abyy is not a painter. Angela ia actually a caretaker for her husband’s two heavily mentally handicapped twin boys. She spends her days caring for them and her nights developing a fake life for herself online. In the end, all the mysteries that might have enraged Nev, have now become tragic.
Like most tragedies, love is the driving passion between all damaged parties. Nev, has mentioned in recent interviews that he was looking for an escape from his life. When the opportunity presented itself, Nev latched onto the idea of dramatically leaving his current life in the pursuit of love. “Megan” was that escape for Nev. His love for is what enabled him to put up blinders to all the warning signs, as most people in love often do. The fact that it was all online doesn’t change the way it impacted Nev because love comes in many forms and, often times, in unexpected ways.
As for Angela, her love is buried deep behind her psychosis. Angela explains that the people she created were all fragmented pieces of who she wanted to be. Sadly, she had to give up her passions in life in order to help someone else. She has an obvious love for her husband and his children, but maybe never realized how much that would impact her life. Interacting with Nev gave Angela her passions back, even if they were manipulated versions of the original.
The tragic part is that both Nev and Angela wanted the same thing. But delving deeper into the fog of love only caused both parties more pain once they woke up. ‘Catfish’ makes an interesting commentary on the digital age. In a time when our laptops have become as much a part of us as the cloths on our back, love has become instantaneous. You can sign up for websites and let a third party tell you who you are and who you most belong with. The reality is that we are much more complicated beings than the internet allow us to be. We have become so attached to the digital world that some people only believe what they see reflected back to themselves online. So Nev and Angela did fall in love, but not with each other. Nev was in love with the thrill of the escape and with himself for taking a leap of faith. Angela was in love with the internet itself, for providing her an escape from a reality that had been eating away at her heart and soul. ‘Catfish’ reveals something that has never been caught on film before, at least for these times. It’s unique and powerful to watch it played out on screen. The appeal of ‘Catfish’ for most audiences is the mystery but the truth behind it is what will keep me thinking about the film as time goes on.
4/5
