‘Catfish’ an intriguing examination of modern friendship

Directors: Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman

Cast: Nev Schulman, Megan Faccio, Ariel Schulman, Melody C. Roscher

Cert: 12

A big hit at the Sundance Festival, where it sparked a bidding war, this film comes with much praise mingled with major doubts about its authenticity … is it a documentary or a spoof?

What it is, though, is a remarkably intriguing work that gives us cause to ponder on the world of Facebook and Friends we now inhabit.

The ‘story’ concerns precocious eight-year-old Abby, a would-be painter, who contacts New York photographer Nev Schulman with a request for permission to paint a portrait based on one of his pictures.

The request leads to a sustained cyber friendship that eventually embraces Abby’s attractive 20-year-old sister Megan, her mother Angela and lots of Megan’s friends … but are things quite what they seem?

And this complex film sets up plenty of such questions … what’s for real and what isn’t?

Star Rating: 4/5