‘Catfish’ will grab you, hook, line and sinker

October 22, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Movie

Catfish

In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

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By Randy Myers

Contra Costa Times

We Google all day. And when the boss turns away, we sneak in a Facebook update.

It’s amazing how influential and prevalent both online innovations have become in our culture. So much so that even their names most often take the form of verbs.

Facebook remains untamed territory, a place where anyone can be a somebody, and we can put forth both our best and our worst faces.

In “Catfish,” an intriguing and suspenseful documentary, a puppy-dog-eyed photographer learns firsthand how Facebook has the power to deceive and, in a curious way, heal.

How so? Well, I’m not going to tell you, since it would destroy the experience of watching this unique film twist and turn and hold you breathless.

Here’s what I can reveal without divulging too much. Single guy Nev Schulman becomes Facebook friends with 8-year-old Abby, an uncannily good artist (Red Flag No. 1!) who paints a photo he’s taken. Soon the 24-year-old receives more and more artwork (Red Flag No. 2!), and then Friends other members of Abby’s family, including her talented knockout (Red Flag 3!) of a sister Megan.

Nev makes for a charming and kind-souled narrator, a handsome guy who will certainly garner even more Friend requests on Facebook.

The long-distance relationship that develops between Nev, a New Yorker, and Michigan Megan is chronicled by his brother, Ariel, and his filmmaking partner, Henry Joost. The trio sense something curious is unfolding, so they videotape Nev’s online and phone exchanges along with their own discussions about the family. Eventually, they embark on a road trip to meet Abby’s family and arrive late at night in the film’s most unnerving sequences.

Anyone who has caught “Caftish’s” trailer realizes that something’s not quite right here, and that it could take us down the jittery path of “The Blair Witch Project.” Just be ready for surprises as “Catfish” veers away from the cruel.

It is rare for a film to upend expectations in such a dramatic way. “Catfish” does it by showing rather than telling.

Doubt obviously will be cast on whether this amounts to 100-percent documentary filmmaking. Questions might surface about whether pivotal scenes were staged or dramatized. Even the origins of its title almost seems too unbelievably perfect in an already unbelievable tale.

I don’t really care. I bought “Catfish” hook, line and sinker, and, three weeks after watching it, I still can’t shake off its effects.