Go watch it. Really avoid watching the trailer [I have no idea why it’s been cut the way it has, because it’s almost doing it a disservice] if you can, but I implore you to go watch it! If Inception blew my mind and left me in awe of Nolan’s imagination and film making prowess, this blew my mind in equal parts in telling a story, a TRUE story, that will leave you shaking your head long after you walk out of the cinema. If it’s a mockumentary, then I tip my hat to a bunch of amazing writers for scripting a story so rich and running me through the emotional spectrum like I haven’t been in a long time; I would be very annoyed if it was. Damn you, cynical nature.

As if the story itself wasn’t amazing enough, I really loved the way it was told. From the montage towards the beginning told solely through emails, Facebook updates and online photos, to the way Google Maps and Street View are used to chart their travels, the use of these popular social services that are so familiar to us now was very clever!  

With all the recent Facebook privacy hoo-hah and ongoing concerns with online identity, Catfish is a film for the times, and a staggering example of the power of Facebook, and the basic level of trust millions of people put in it. Angela’s messed up, but creative mind, coupled with a basic understanding of social media services, allowed her to create a complex, but completely fake network of family and friends to live out a life and romance that was a far cry from her pretty sorry existence. It was just unfortunate that this escape came at the expense of Nev.

Thank you for screening it, Melbourne International Film Festival, but next time, maybe try not screwing up the projection for a good half of the movie?

 Oh, and check out Catfish‘s site, with Nev’s “desktop”!

Go watch it.