Abby is a famous painter. By the young age of six, she has been in numerous shows, bought her own gallery, and sold her pieces of art for just south of ten grand. She is a prodigy by any standard and could go down in history as the most successful child artist of all time, and she sends New York photographer Rev Schulman a piece of her work -but there is a catch. You want to find out, you will have to go and see Rogue Entertainment's Catfish.
It is hard to review Henry Joost and Rel Schulman's 2010 Sundance Selection documentary without giving too much away. For that reason alone, I will only skim the surface of the plot and dive directly into why I think you must see this film opening weekend - before the huge, unexpected twist leaks for all the word to hear.
For starters, the story is priceless. No matter how often you hear the horror stories of similar scenarios, there is still no explanation for what you will see in Catfish. The raw, uncanny revelation of one's life is truly remarkable as you get to witness the workings of a true professional as she uses good looks and online access to fully exploit a man's heart.
Within minutes of the truth you begin to feel for the lead protagonist, regretful that you aren't there with him, yet grateful that the same situation didn't happen to you. There is a state of shock that lasts for several minutes as you begin to piece together the puzzle, realizing that others' dark and unbelievable horrors have finally been caught on camera.
The trailer plays up the movie like a horror piece, and while the story was horrifying, it still wasn't a gruesome blood bath like I half expected. Instead it was a mind teaser that had me leaving the theater with more than a million questions- questions that will forever go unanswered but will remain on my mind.
Needless to say Catfish is an amazing film with a twisted story that you must see opening weekend. It literally creates a new genre of its own, and you do not want to miss what everyone is going to be talking about.
