I
suppose it's a long time coming for Steven Spielberg to take a break
from his string of very serious films (Amistad, Saving Private Ryan,
A.I., and
Minority Report) to do something fun, and if there's anything
that Catch Me If You Can definitely is, it's fun. Just
don't think it was any less difficult to make, because he doesn't have
the best of scripts to work with, and there's a lot of loose ends to
the story that the film ignores in order to keep the roguish young con
artist looking like the hero, especially of the people whose lives
must have been negatively impacted because of his forgeries and lies.
The fact that he succeeds only makes his skills as director that much
more impressive, because it's not until the movie is over that you
wonder about the things left unexplained. It is a 2 hour and 20
minute film, but like Frank Abagnale, Jr. himself, it never stops
moving for a second.
The film starts off with the
blurb that it is "inspired by" a true story, which usually means that
an actual story provided the idea for a mostly fictionalized story.
The real Frank Abagnale, Jr. was a mere teenage when he proceeded to
con his way to making millions in bad checks, phony credentials and
working in occupations such as being a pilot and doctor for a time.
Frank (DiCaprio, Gangs of New York)
starts his life on his own trying to gain enough money to get
back all that his parents lost with an IRS investigation into his
father's affairs, and also in hopes that it will keep his parents
together. He learns to write bad checks, and eventually forge
them, learning the process from people who seem not to notice his
interest in how it all works. Eventually he uses his skills to
phony up papers to make himself a pilot, and away he goes around the
country swindling millions out of unsuspecting businesses and banks.
Hot on his trail is FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks,
Road to Perdition), who always
seems to have Frank in his grasp, only to come up empty-handed, much
to his embarrassment.
There's really no one I wouldn't recommend
Catch Me If You Can to, as it is breezy, well-made escapism,
and you'll probably have a good time watching it. Spielberg
subdues his style, letting the characters drive the story, and the
outlandish events provide their own entertainment. It's adapted
from Abagnale's own book (written by Stan Redding) by Jeff Nathanson,
whose only claims to screenwriting fame come from lackluster
screenplays like Speed 2: Cruise Control and
Rush Hour 2, and although this is
probably his best work to date, it could have been written with a
little more wit. Luckily, this is a film that doesn't require
great writing or much depth, as any pause for reflection would ruin
the momentum. Besides, this is a compelling story, starring
appealing actors, and directed by the best in the business, with a
great and untypical jazzy score by John Williams (Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Attack of
the Clones).
Well done stuff that makes me hope it's not
long before Spielberg needs another breather. I don't need to
tell you to go see it. The film's title should tell you all.
