Documentaires are difficult to review because in terms of story there is not way to review it, and in terms of editing the footage acquired could have been limited. However, Catfish incredibly manages to stumble upon an incredibly poignant commentary of our time. Contrary to its falsely advertised 'Blair Witch-esque' horror documentary I felt nothing but admiration for the protagonist and sympathy for the supposed antagonist.
Stylistically the theme of virtual reality vs. actual reality is implemented perfectly. The exploded pixels at the start are such a nice touch reminding us of the fact EVERYTHING in the virtual reality we have created for ourselves IS fake; a collection of intangible, floating data that is easily manipulated. There is also a very nice contrast between the beauty but also sterility and superficiality of the virtual world of Facebook and the gritty, grimy shitness of the world we live in.
The film is documented using pointers such as google maps/sat-nav/iPhone maps/Facebook and it all goes to show to what extent virtual reality has integrated itself into our lives. It documents itself with the very thing its criticising (or however you want to interpret it) and that is a beautiful contradiction.
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