On Catching Catfish on TV

Without doubt The Social Network (2010) has been the most publicised, most debated and most awards laden movie about Facebook. All this, and it's a great film. Yet, in the same year as Fincher's The Social Network was getting everyone talking, the best film about Facebook begun its quiet ascent to becoming the ultimate water cooler film. That film is Catfish, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Catfish markets itself as a documentary that follows photographer Yaniv Schulman, the director's brother, as he embarks upon an online relationship with the family of an eight year old child prodigy artist. This leads to an online relationship with the eight year olds elder sister and leads to a meeting that is absolutely riveting.

The documentary credentials of this film have been much discussed and debated. The perfect three part structure, the too clean ending and the slightly uncertain 'acting', as if a script hasn't quite been memorised or improvisation is not a skill they've mastered call into question the true documentary nature of the film. The star and directors claim it is 100% real. That the structure and the ending is something that they were very fortunate to fall into as they followed Yaniv's story. Not since This is Spinal Tap (1984) has a film blurred the lines between fact and fiction, forcing an audience into wild debate. The difference with This is Spinal Tap is that the answer is out there, it's just hard to believe. With Catfish, the status of documentary is insisted upon by all involved, yet doubted by many.

Whether it is 100% real, completely fabricated or a mix of both (the latter being the most likely), Catfish is thrilling cinema. It is impossible to take your eyes off the action as the story develops into more shocking turns. Amongst the comedy, the drama, the thrills and the heartbreak this is edge of the seat viewing and the most relevant film about Facebook so far created.