Talhotblond

The premise of this film interested me, as I met my share of posers on the Internet when I first got online. Frankly, I didn't expect much more than your run of the mill Investigative Discovery segment, so I was busy doing other things online when the film started. I was not prepared to be immediately sucked in by its intensity. The very first comments by the narrator engaged me completely. The use of soft, tender music instead of the usual suspenseful choices in a crime presentation lulls the viewer right into the relationship between Jessi and Tommy and keeps you there. It beautifully augments the slowly rolling instant messages that draw the development of the relationship. The rhythm of the two together tinted the exchanges with a reflective eeriness that gives the viewer enough time to read, absorb and experience the eeriness of the whole situation. And the discovery at the end just blew my mind. A thoughtful and disturbing film that leaves you breathless and thinking.

"She unleashed a fantasy online that was addictive as any drug, and as lethal as any bullet."

Like the somewhat similar documentary Catfish, Talhotblond is a real-life story about how easy it is to hide behind a fictional identity online, and the problems that can result from such deceit. 

Talhotblond is an example of a worse case scenario of Internet deceit. A dangerous love triangle started online ends up in a murder and the destruction of several lives. Interviews from the people involved, psychiatric experts, and the law authorities who eventually became involved, paint a disturbing picture of manipulation and lies that is unfortunately all too true. 

If you're interested in the subject, check it out.

I truly do not understand the hate and hyper criticism this stunning documentary has received. I cannot imagine how it could have been made better. I thought the film was outstanding (and I have pretty much seen them all). Among many positives, it contained one of the Top 10 OMG moments in the history of film. People need to stop trying to be the next Roger Ebert and be thankful you are treated with cinematic gifts like this from time to time. They are so rare. The music was great. The narration was unique and very effective. The voice over actors were high caliber. The interviews where compelling. The story was astonishing (yet deeply sad of course).

There is nothing I enjoy more than compelling real life stories, and this is certainly one. The story is disturbing and fascinating in equal measure. It details an almost unbelievable chain of events, which results in one man (Thomas Montgomery) carrying out a brutal and unforgivable act, fuelled by obsession and temporary madness. The film tells us how he got to that stage, in his own words. As well as interviews with him, there are insights from clinical psychologists, attorneys, and various law enforcement officials, and the other key figures in the story. (I will not say more about who these 'key figures' are as I do not wish to give it away.) But their honesty during their interviews is commendable and very much adds to the credibility of the film. To my mind, this is clearly what inspired the fake "real life" documentary 'Catfish'. In fact I would go so far as to say Catfish totally ripped this off, and threw in a few elements of 'My Kid Could Paint That' for good measure. Anyway, this film is definitely one to watch. It is a stark warning of the perils of the online world and is also of interest to people who enjoy learning about the human psyche and criminal psychology. Highly recommended.

I heard this story on the podcast casefiles which led me to seek out a visual documentary. I can't believe this hasn't been covered by dateline or 48 hours, that is actually quite incredible.

As I look through my IMDb History, I see that I saw the 2012 theatrical movie but I don't remember that! So it was like a new story for me.

Well enough about me, I thought the documentary was generally well done. It's clearly low budget but it conveyed the storyv effectively and interestingly with participation from some of the people involved. It's one of the most ironic stories I've ever seen.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

Effective immediately as of the day that I am writing this, I am docking at least one star for every documentary that takes us into the director's chair. I am tired of seeing the clapperboard clapped and the pre-show banter banter between the off screen narrator and guest, or the guests pre-show musings. Historically networks would have been embarrassed if that wasn't edited out, but now it's become common useless filler and utter garbage. Minus one star for you, do better.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.