And now, a word from Capt. Movies…

Catfish

This fine documentary has been done a terrible disservice by the company producing its advertising. It was incorrectly marketed as a “suspense / thriller ala Blair Witch.” Super wrong. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have created a powerful statement about modern day social networking; you could say it’s a document about substance abuse.
There has been a good deal of criticism calling the film a mockumentary. If this is a staged film then several of the “actors” who appear in Catfish should get nominations for Oscars. At the point when the “mystery” element of the film is revealed the filmmakers realize what they have and adjust the editing and camera style to fully take advantage of the material. It shows knowledgeable film making. And, refreshingly, it’s done with a gentle grace. It’s available on DVD from Netflix.