The documentary “Catfish” was very current and dramatic. We follow three best friends on their journey to find the truth about this “Facebook Family” that has touched all of them through contact on the internet. It is a cautionary tale and in the end lessons are learned.
When Yaniv has a child named Abby introduce herself online, he becomes very attached to her. She is so special, a child with talent and evidently quite accomplished. She writes about her life as an artist but also as a little girl. When she describes the death of her snake, she moves quickly on to her new pet. Yaniv or Nev as they call him is impressed. He then comments, that she can understand the “circle of life”.
Although he only communicates with Abby online for sometime, he speaks to her family on the phone. He learns about Angela (the mother) and her other children, Megan and Alex. He regularly communicates with them all and develops a crush on Megan. The family seems loaded with talent and he can relate to this. He describes Angela as fantastic, “look at her children” Nev says.
His relationship with Megan grows very quickly. Much of the conversation borders on pornographic. Although, he is a film maker with a busy life, this seems to be his other life. Since most of the time he is working and spending time with the same people, this is a separate life. He shares some of it with Rel and Henry. When Megan sends him tapes of her music, they all listen to it. She wrote it for him and her brother helped her record it. When Abby sends paintings, they all wait for the box to be opened.
Nev seems to never catch Abby at home for a phone conversation and when he does, something is not right. When the friends discover that Megans’ songs are not hers, they
investigate. Nev wants to know who he has been talking to. His brother(Rel) and Henry are filming this and he is clearly upset. “This is my life” he yells at his brother, maybe we should stop filming. He made a commitment to film this but now he is hurt and confused. They continue to uncover lies and when doing a job near the “Facebook Family” home, they decide to drop in.
During the trip, they used music in the documentary to help the viewer stay involved. The lies are exposed one by one. The suspense was real. I wanted to know what kind of a person would do this?
The sad answer is a very lonely one. Nev was lonely and vulnerable as well. I felt sorry for all involved during the uncomfortable “face to face”. Even with Nev there, Angela continues to lie. It is a long scene with answers to questions that needed to be asked. I feel that Nevs reaction to being lied to is not very emotional in the end. He has it figured out. He seems to have accepted it. There is no choice.
I found it interesting that they remain “Facebook Friends”. Angela stays connected with this life she so desperately wanted access to and Nev remains open. On some level, he must feel sorry for her. I believe Nev has learned a lesson and remaining connected is a reminder he may need. After all, he answered Abbys friend request when he did not have to.