I first saw this preview as I sat amongst an-- unsurprisingly-- all female audience for a viewing of "Eat, Pray, Love." Big mistake to see that movie; I'll just say that the lone redeeming quality was looking at the beauty that is Javier Bardem. ANYWAY, I saw the trailer for "Catfish" and absolutely fell in love. Initially, I thought it would be a dumb predictable documentary version of a romcom; considering the demographic of "Eat, Pray, Love," who would have thought a thriller would be amongst the set of previews? (I believe the other two were "Life as We Know It," --an insipid film featuring the boring Katherine Heigl and the beautiful Josh Duahmel-- and "Burlesque" starring Cher and Xtina.)
I am intrigued by the premise of "Catfish" because it reminds me of one of my all time faves, "The Blair Witch Project." Even though, unlike "Blair Witch," it seems that "Catfish" possesses an honest nonfiction story, both films contain the same handheld camera and amateur tone that conveys a sense of veracity to me. When I use the term veracity, I don't mean it to apply to the content of the films, but rather to the art of filmmaking. "The Blair Witch Project" was void of typical Hollywood presumption that also appears to be missing in "Catfish." I believe this to be one of the major reasons I'm feeling such an attraction to this film. The characters are young, naive, relatable--but not in that phony *insert title of mainstream hollywood movie here* way. Whether the story is fiction or nonfiction, both "Blair Witch" and "Catfish" possess a purity that many films lack.
While I know this film is out and playing in cities across the country, I will anxiously await for it to present itself in Dayton. It could be months, but when I have the chance to catch this flick, I will not waver.
