If you see only one movie about Facebook this year, make it "The Social Network." But if you see two, make the second "Catfish," a compelling documentary about a small town family and their extraordinary Facebook profiles.

The film follows three New York City filmmakers and their active interest in a woman's family living in Michigan. They get to know each other on Facebook and are introduced to the woman's 9-year-old daughter, a promising young artist who has used one of the filmmaker's photographs as inspiration for a painting.

One of the guys also hits it off with the woman's oldest daughter, a horse enthusiast and aspiring musician. Soon the Facebook-only relationship grows into something more. They talk on the phone, share photos and text messages that would embarrass even the most amateurish romance novelists.

But as the guys grow more and more invested in the family, something doesn't quite make sense.

Warning: The marketing materials for "Catfish" have been deliberately misleading. The tagline reads "Don't let anyone tell you what it is," and the theatrical trailer suggests a more ominous reveal than the actual plot. Still, the twist in "Catfish" shouldn't be spoiled, as it exposes a harsh consequence of the overwhelming shift to anonymous communication.

Like others who have seen it, I don't believe the complete authenticity of "Catfish." While I wouldn't go as far as calling it a fake documentary, I do think these New York filmmakers knew more of their subject matter than they initially claim. They want you to believe they are bystanders in an elaborate web of real-life drama, but there are too many all-too-convenient "revelations" that are difficult to swallow.

Oddly enough, whether or not "Catfish" is 100 percent true matters little to the overall success of the film. Taken at face value or not, the film tells a compelling human drama about what we all claim to be on Facebook and who we actually are in real life.

"Catfish" is available now on home video.

Instant View

Pick of the Week

The third and final film installment of Stieg Larssen's Millennium Trilogy, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest," is now available on home video, including Instant Viewing access for all Netflix subscribers. The Swedish films that begin with "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" are soon to be adapted in English by "The Social Network" director David Fincher.

The highlight of the Swedish films is Noomi Rapace as the anti-social but brilliant computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. She carries the best scenes of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest," a story that focuses on Lisbeth being put on trial for the attempted murder of her abusive father.

While never reaching the cinematic prowess or storytelling expertise of the trilogy's first installment, "Hornets' Nest" is a major improvement on the second installment, "The Girl Who Played with Fire," a movie that lacked narrative focus and made Lisbeth a secondary character in her own story.

The embellished drama of the court trial helps "Hornets' Nest" maintain momentum, though it should be acknowledged the source stories of "Fire" and "Hornets' Nest" just aren't as interesting as the mystery and suspense in the first film. Still, Lisbeth remains a rare onscreen revelation-- a unique female voice in a medium that depicts so few of them believably.

All three Swedish films in the Millennium Trilogy are available on home video and Netflix Instant Viewing.

Upcoming home video highlights:

• Critically-acclaimed indie-horror "Monsters," available now on home video, March 3 for Netflix Instant Viewing.

• "Freakonomics," a documentary based on the best-selling book, is available now on home video, Feb. 17 for Netflix Instant Viewing.

• Runaway train thriller "Unstoppable," available Tuesday on home video

• Education-focused documentary "Waiting for 'Superman,'" a criminal snub in the Best Documentary category at the Oscars, also available Tuesday on home video.

Tyler Wilson can be reached at [email protected].