Catfish (film)
Encyclopedia
Catfish is a 2010 American documentary
involving a young man being filmed by his brother and friend as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook
.
artist in rural Ishpeming, Michigan
, sends him a painting of one of his published photographs. They become Facebook
friends in a network that broadens to Abby's family, including her mother, Angela (Wesselman); Angela's husband Vince; and Abby's attractive older half-sister Megan, a veterinary technician, dancer and songwriter who lives in Gladstone, Michigan
.
For a documentary, Ariel and Henry film Nev as he begins a long-distance relationship
with Megan, conducted over the Internet and phone calls, and they discuss meeting in person. She sends him MP3
s of her songs, but Nev discovers that they are all taken from performances by other people on YouTube
. He later finds evidence that Megan and Abby have made other false claims.
Ariel urges his upset brother to continue the relationship for the documentary. The siblings and Henry eventually travel to Michigan to make an impromptu appearance at the Pierces' house and confront Megan. When they travel to Angela's house, she takes a while to answer the door, but she appears very happy to see them. She casually announces that she will begin chemotherapy
for uterine cancer soon. She drives them to see Abby, who says "you're confusing me" when Nev repeatedly asks her about her art.
The next morning, Nev wakes up to a text message from Megan saying that she was checking in to rehab and that she would not be able to meet him. A Facebook message from one of Megan's friends confirms that she is checking in to rehab. Later that day, Nev suggests to Angela that they have a serious talk, and she breaks down, admitting to making everything up. She claims that the pictures of Megan she used were from a friend of a friend, and Angela worries that she betrayed her. In fact, the pictures are from a completely unrelated woman from Washington. Unable to stop lying, Angela claims that her real daughter Megan really is in rehab downstate, but it turns out that Megan has been estranged from the family for a long time.
All of the artwork that Abby was supposed to have created was actually by Angela. Nev spends some time sitting for a portrait with Angela, and they talk more about her lies. She confesses that all the various personae were fragments of her personality, usually enacting some fantasy of what her life would have been like if she had not made the choices she had. Her husband Vince is under the illusion that Nev is a patron of Angela's, commissioning all the artwork that she sent to him. Vince has twin sons with severe disabilities from a previous marriage.
Sitting on his front porch, Vince tells the story that gives the film its name. He claims that when live cod were shipped to Asia from North America, the fish's inactivity in their tanks resulted in mushy flesh in the Asian markets. Eventually, the fishermen discovered that putting catfish in the tanks with the cod kept them active. Vince feels that people like Angela are catfish, who keep other people active in life.
-based photographer Aimee Gonzales had posted on Facebook to portray Megan and her family. Catfishs filmmakers compensated Gonzales for her involuntary appearance in the documentary, and she participated in publicity for the film. A photograph Angela described as a son, Alex, is that of rapper Joshua Paul Liimatta, also known as "The Sisu Kid".
. Morgan Spurlock
, director and subject of the documentary Super Size Me
, walked up to the producers of the film during one of its initial screenings and told them "it was the best fake documentary I have ever seen". Comedian Zach Galifianakis
also has stated that he does not believe the events in the film to be true.
Kyle Buchanan at Movieline
questions why the filmmakers would begin obsessively documenting Nev's online relationship so early on, and argues that it is highly improbable that media-savvy professionals like the Schulmans and Joost would not use the Internet to research Megan and her family before meeting them. Others have also questioned the trio's decision to begin filming, as well as the seemingly improbable coincidence of them catching everything of importance to the story on film as it happens. It has also been pointed out that the group's supposed movements in Catfish are not documented in their public blog postings at the time and that at least one website mentioned in the Internet conversations shown in the film does not appear to have existed.
Since the movie's release, Angela has been interviewed by ABC's 20/20 and the Los Angeles Times
have spoken with neighbors familiar with her family.. In the summer of 2011, The Mining Journal ran a two-part profile of Angela in connection with the North of the 45th Parallel 2011 exhibition at the DeVos Art Museum on the campus of Northern Michigan University
.
on September 17, 2010. The Rogue Pictures
unit of Relativity Media
acquired Catfish in a bidding war with Paramount Pictures
, after Brett Ratner
endorsed the film. Catfish was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 4, 2011.
, the site's consensus being "Catfish may tread the line between real-life drama and crass exploitation a little too unsteadily for some viewers' tastes, but its timely premise and tightly wound mystery make for a gripping documentary".
Time
magazine did a full page article, written by Mary Pols in a September 2010 issue, saying "as you watch Catfish, squirming in anticipation of the trouble that must lie ahead―why else would this be a movie?―you're likely to think this is the real face of social networking."
At the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Alison Willmore of IFC
described it as a "sad, unusual love story." John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter
called Catfish "jaw-dropping" and "crowd-pleasing" but said that it "will require clever marketing in order to preserve the surprises at its core." Kyle Buchanan of Movieline
asked if "easily the most buzzed-about documentary" at Sundance had "a truth problem", and reported that an audience member questioned whether it was a documentary at all. Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
referred to these questions as a "severe cross-examination" and states that "everyone in the film is exactly as the film portrays them."
Total Film
described the film as: "Funny, unsettling and thoroughly engrossing... the end result is a compulsive, propulsive study of relationships virtual and real".
Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost became co-directors for Paranormal Activity 3
after this film received attention from film festivals.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
involving a young man being filmed by his brother and friend as he builds a romantic relationship with a young woman on the social networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
Plot
Young photographer Nev Schulman lives with his brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost in New York. Abby Pierce, an eight-year-old child prodigyChild prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
artist in rural Ishpeming, Michigan
Ishpeming, Michigan
Ishpeming is a city in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,686 at the 2000 census. This is down from a higher population in the 1950s and 1960s when the economically supportive iron ore mines had a much higher employment level...
, sends him a painting of one of his published photographs. They become Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
friends in a network that broadens to Abby's family, including her mother, Angela (Wesselman); Angela's husband Vince; and Abby's attractive older half-sister Megan, a veterinary technician, dancer and songwriter who lives in Gladstone, Michigan
Gladstone, Michigan
Gladstone is a city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. First settled in 1877, Gladstone's original name was Saunders Point. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census....
.
For a documentary, Ariel and Henry film Nev as he begins a long-distance relationship
Long-distance relationship
A long-distance relationship is typically an intimate relationship that takes place when the partners are separated by a considerable distance....
with Megan, conducted over the Internet and phone calls, and they discuss meeting in person. She sends him MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s of her songs, but Nev discovers that they are all taken from performances by other people on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. He later finds evidence that Megan and Abby have made other false claims.
Ariel urges his upset brother to continue the relationship for the documentary. The siblings and Henry eventually travel to Michigan to make an impromptu appearance at the Pierces' house and confront Megan. When they travel to Angela's house, she takes a while to answer the door, but she appears very happy to see them. She casually announces that she will begin chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for uterine cancer soon. She drives them to see Abby, who says "you're confusing me" when Nev repeatedly asks her about her art.
The next morning, Nev wakes up to a text message from Megan saying that she was checking in to rehab and that she would not be able to meet him. A Facebook message from one of Megan's friends confirms that she is checking in to rehab. Later that day, Nev suggests to Angela that they have a serious talk, and she breaks down, admitting to making everything up. She claims that the pictures of Megan she used were from a friend of a friend, and Angela worries that she betrayed her. In fact, the pictures are from a completely unrelated woman from Washington. Unable to stop lying, Angela claims that her real daughter Megan really is in rehab downstate, but it turns out that Megan has been estranged from the family for a long time.
All of the artwork that Abby was supposed to have created was actually by Angela. Nev spends some time sitting for a portrait with Angela, and they talk more about her lies. She confesses that all the various personae were fragments of her personality, usually enacting some fantasy of what her life would have been like if she had not made the choices she had. Her husband Vince is under the illusion that Nev is a patron of Angela's, commissioning all the artwork that she sent to him. Vince has twin sons with severe disabilities from a previous marriage.
Sitting on his front porch, Vince tells the story that gives the film its name. He claims that when live cod were shipped to Asia from North America, the fish's inactivity in their tanks resulted in mushy flesh in the Asian markets. Eventually, the fishermen discovered that putting catfish in the tanks with the cod kept them active. Vince feels that people like Angela are catfish, who keep other people active in life.
Production
Angela used pictures that VancouverVancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
-based photographer Aimee Gonzales had posted on Facebook to portray Megan and her family. Catfishs filmmakers compensated Gonzales for her involuntary appearance in the documentary, and she participated in publicity for the film. A photograph Angela described as a son, Alex, is that of rapper Joshua Paul Liimatta, also known as "The Sisu Kid".
Authenticity questioned
In an interview Ariel Schulman related that some viewers believe Catfish to be a fake documentary, or a hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
. Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Valentine Spurlock is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and journalist best known for the documentary film Super Size Me...
, director and subject of the documentary Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
, walked up to the producers of the film during one of its initial screenings and told them "it was the best fake documentary I have ever seen". Comedian Zach Galifianakis
Zach Galifianakis
Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...
also has stated that he does not believe the events in the film to be true.
Kyle Buchanan at Movieline
Movieline
Movieline is a website, formerly a Los Angeles-based film and entertainment magazine, started in 1985 as a local magazine and went national in 1989. Known for its cult status and popularity among film critics, the magazine eventually was retooled and named Movieline's Hollywood Life. The magazine...
questions why the filmmakers would begin obsessively documenting Nev's online relationship so early on, and argues that it is highly improbable that media-savvy professionals like the Schulmans and Joost would not use the Internet to research Megan and her family before meeting them. Others have also questioned the trio's decision to begin filming, as well as the seemingly improbable coincidence of them catching everything of importance to the story on film as it happens. It has also been pointed out that the group's supposed movements in Catfish are not documented in their public blog postings at the time and that at least one website mentioned in the Internet conversations shown in the film does not appear to have existed.
Since the movie's release, Angela has been interviewed by ABC's 20/20 and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
have spoken with neighbors familiar with her family.. In the summer of 2011, The Mining Journal ran a two-part profile of Angela in connection with the North of the 45th Parallel 2011 exhibition at the DeVos Art Museum on the campus of Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
.
Release
The film had a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on September 17, 2010. The Rogue Pictures
Rogue Pictures
Rogue is a subsidiary of Relativity Media. The company has about 25 titles in its library.- Background :In 1997, Rogue Pictures was formed as a division of PolyGram Pictures but the name was dropped in 2000 after Universal Pictures bought PolyGram...
unit of Relativity Media
Relativity Media
Relativity Media is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California.- Company :...
acquired Catfish in a bidding war with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, after Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
endorsed the film. Catfish was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 4, 2011.
Reception
The film received an 82% "fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the site's consensus being "Catfish may tread the line between real-life drama and crass exploitation a little too unsteadily for some viewers' tastes, but its timely premise and tightly wound mystery make for a gripping documentary".
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine did a full page article, written by Mary Pols in a September 2010 issue, saying "as you watch Catfish, squirming in anticipation of the trouble that must lie ahead―why else would this be a movie?―you're likely to think this is the real face of social networking."
At the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Alison Willmore of IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
described it as a "sad, unusual love story." John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
called Catfish "jaw-dropping" and "crowd-pleasing" but said that it "will require clever marketing in order to preserve the surprises at its core." Kyle Buchanan of Movieline
Movieline
Movieline is a website, formerly a Los Angeles-based film and entertainment magazine, started in 1985 as a local magazine and went national in 1989. Known for its cult status and popularity among film critics, the magazine eventually was retooled and named Movieline's Hollywood Life. The magazine...
asked if "easily the most buzzed-about documentary" at Sundance had "a truth problem", and reported that an audience member questioned whether it was a documentary at all. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
referred to these questions as a "severe cross-examination" and states that "everyone in the film is exactly as the film portrays them."
Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
described the film as: "Funny, unsettling and thoroughly engrossing... the end result is a compulsive, propulsive study of relationships virtual and real".
Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost became co-directors for Paranormal Activity 3
Paranormal Activity 3
Paranormal Activity 3 is a 2011 American supernatural horror film. It is the third film of the Paranormal Activity series and serves as a prequel, set 18 years prior to the events of the first two films...
after this film received attention from film festivals.
Lawsuits
The movie itself has been the subject of two lawsuits, with Relativity Media concluding that the movie will never be profitable because of them. Both of these lawsuits have to do with songs used within the movie not being attributed to their creators. The first lawsuit forces the filmmakers to prove the film's story, as a documentary would be protected by fair use.External links
- 'Catfish' Creators Catch Digital Life In Action at NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...