talhotblond

"talhotblond" is a contemporary cyberspace name used in a notorious Internet chatroom.

This 2009 Seattle International Film Festival selection starts with a voiceover which explains we are looking at a photo of a fellow who is dead, so he will have a friend do the narration in his place. Shades of "Sunset Boulevard," huh?

There are two things that set this stunning documentary apart:

1. The editing is so ingenious that various bits of information come unexpectedly and the full picture isn't revealed until very late in this engrossing piece. I actually heard the audience gasp...
2. I love Eric Satie's "Gymnopedie" and as soon as I heard that familiar piano music in the background, I felt this would be a film that was a cut above average.

This is basically a project about cybersex, chatrooms, obsession, self-delusion and justice. It consists of interviews with many of the principals in this tangled web: what they thought, what they saw, what they did, and how they feel today.

There was not a single moment when I was bored.

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NOTE: There has been a scripted movie based on this event, released in 2012. The difference is the title, the scripted one has a capital "T" e.g., "Talhotblond".... this 2009 original is "talhotblond."