DVD Review: Catch Me If You Can

Frank Abignale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) has a compulsive habit of pulling the labels off of jars and bottles. It's almost as though he is subconsciously anonymizing everything around him. In a way, this typifies the way young Frank lives his life.

It is the 1960's and Frank is a teenager. His parents seem happy, but there is an undercurrent of trouble. Frank's father is having troubles with the IRS and then one day Frank comes him to find his mother with another man. The next thing he knows, his parents are getting divorced and Frank is asked to choose which parent he wants to live with. This is too much for him and he runs.

The trouble is, Frank is still just a kid. He has no job, no money and he's running the streets of New York. Desperate, he does the only thing he can think of and begins to write bad checks. And then one of those life changing events happens. Frank watches an airline crew emerge from a taxi and enter a hotel. He sees how, based solely on the uniforms they wear, the group is treated with respect and courtesy wherever they go.

Recalling a time earlier when he impersonated a teacher, Frank decides to become a pilot. He scams his way into a pilot's uniform and begins flying around the country for free, never actually piloting a plane. He also forges his own pay checks and cashes them around the world.

To call Frank Abignale a prolific check forger would be an understatement on the same level as calling the Mississippi river a little stream. In his career, Frank manages to swipe literally millions of dollars, making him one of the most notorious bank robbers in history. More than that, he manages to convincingly pass himself off not only as an airline pilot, but also as a teacher, a doctor and a lawyer. Frank even managed to pass the Louisiana Bar Exam.

But even more strange is what happens to Frank after he is caught. For those not familiar with Frank's story, I won't spoil the end here, but suffice it to say that it's an ending that is perfectly suited to his illustrious career.

Frank is eventually caught by FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks). In many ways, Hanratty fills the father role when Frank's relationship with his real father spirals away. Hanratty grudgingly begins to respect Frank after he is fooled by the boy when they first meet. Suddenly, the chase becomes an obsession. Frank leads a lonely life because he is a criminal, but Hanratty's loneliness stems from his unrelenting chase. In many ways, the two men seem to exist only for each other. When Frank is alone on Christmas Eve, the only person he can think to call is Hanratty.

Catch Me If You Can is a very different film from Steven Spielberg's last couple of efforts (A.I and Minority Report). For one thing, this film is much more lighthearted than anything he's done in recent years. And yet, there is still the Spielberg touch, both in visual style and characterization. The film is bursting from the seams with characters, and yet each is given a moment to shine. Certainly, the main players have their moments (one of my favorites is when Hanratty first tries to arrest Frank -- when he shows his credentials to a maid, he accidentally displays them backwards), but even the smaller characters are humanized. Yes, the film is based upon a true story, but more than that, it feels real.

I have to say that I was refreshed by this film. We live in a time when Hollywood desperately wants to be taken seriously, when every film must either by significantly poignant or an over-the-top spectacle. Here, however, is a film that is content to simply be a fun experience. There are no pretenses, no hidden messages and the result is just pure entertainment.

:::back to top