Review of Catfish

Intriguing documentary following a young photographer, Nev Schulman, and his relationship with a young fan and artist, Abby. Abby sends Nev a painting of one of his photos and from there they build a friendship by post and online and occasionally on the telephone. Nev "meets" her entire family via Facebook and falls for Abby's glamourous sister, Megan, over the phone. He longs to meet her. But all is not as it seems...

It seems almost like this documentary has been made to scare the hoards of us who spend huge amounts of time online, making friends, building relationships and feeling emotions that are totally real to us. However, in reality it just makes you feel sad for people like those portrayed, that their lives are so empty and depressing or difficult that they feel they have to create new personalities and lie in order to feel some worth for themselves.

The final effect of the film is mixed. It is an excellent investigation into the pitfalls of communicating in a modern cyber world where people can hide behind lies and falsities. However, there are moments when it appears staged, and the conclusion seems a little too perfect, but then if it's real what can I say??

Overall, an interesting insight into modern culture and highly recommended.