Review: Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Susan Granger
Once again, truth is stranger than fiction, and this enthralling
cat-and-mouse game was inspired by the exploits of audacious Frank W. Abagnale
Jr., known as the Skywayman. From the time he ran away from his troubled home at
age 16 to his capture at 21, Abagnale passed himself off as a co-pilot on Pan
Am, an Emergency Room physician, a lawyer and a millionaire. He was so skilled
at 'paperhanging' (check fraud) - and had such chutzpah - that, for years, he
was able to outwit and outmaneuver FBI Agent Carl Hanratty, who patiently
pursued him around the world while developing a curious surrogate-father/son
relationship with the daring identity thief. While Leonardo DiCaprio is engaging
as the self-assured, elusive master of deception, it's Tom Hanks' dogged
determination as the stodgy agent that resonates, along with Christopher
Walken's poignant portrayal of Abagnale's father, a glib, small-town jeweler in
trouble with the IRS while desperately clinging to his adulterous French
war-bride (Nathalie Baye). Perceptively directed by Steven Spielberg from Jeff
Nathanson's expertly-plotted screenplay, based on Abagnale's memoir, it's a
cockeyed version of the American dream: a ingenious, jet-setting grifter who
scammed bad checks in 50 states and 26 countries, bilking banks of $2.5 million,
yet who's still haunted by the sins of his parents which fractured his family.
After serving five years, Abagnale was released from prison on the condition
that he teach law enforcement to prevent fraud. Now he has his own security firm
and lectures at the FBI Academy. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Catch
Me If You Can" is an amazing, astonishing 10. For sheer escapist entertainment,
this rebellious rogue's skewed survival game is a winner. It's one of my 10 BEST
MOVIES of 2002.
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X-Language: en
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X-RT-RatingText: 10/10
Jon Popick
"We Put the SIN in Cinema"
© Copyright 2002 Planet Sick-Boy. All Rights Reserved.
By definition alone, I'm starting to dislike movies based on true stories
(or those based on "actual events," which seem to be getting more and more
prevalent) that were previously unfamiliar to me. I might have liked A
Beautiful Mind a lot more if I hadn't learned about the numerous negative
aspects of John Forbes Nash, Jr.'s life that the film carefully sidestepped.
Ditto for Frida and Evelyn. If I have to sit through a formulaic biopic,
the last thing I want to discover is that the filmmakers have sugarcoated
things to make their protagonist more likable, which, one would imagine,
also makes their job as storytellers a whole lot easier. Auto Focus is the
only recent flick I can think of that faithfully depicted its subject, warts
and all.
I have no idea if any warts have been removed from Steven Spielberg's Catch
Me If You Can, but I can tell you I don't care if the film received a Ron
Howard-esque saccharine shellacking, simply because it isn't a
by-the-numbers bore. You know you're in for a treat when the usually
tiresome John Williams provides an appropriately upbeat, '60s-influenced
score over the '60s-influenced credits before Can drops us into the audience
of television's To Tell the Truth. The three contestants each claim to be
Frank Abagnale, Jr., the world's youngest and most successful con artist,
but, of course, only one is being honest.
Our real Abagnale is played by Leonardo DiCaprio (Gangs of New York), who we
then see via two separate flashback threads - one as a younger teen in New
Rochelle, and one in a Marseilles prison right after he's been nabbed by an
FBI agent named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks, Road to Perdition). The former
depicts Abagnale in his innocent, formative years, where, by chance, the
bust-up of his parental units (Scotland, PA's Christopher Walken and Venus
Beauty Institute's Nathalie Baye) happens to coincide with his 16th birthday
and, more importantly, the receipt of his very own checking account. From
there, it's off to the races as Abagnale quickly begins a reign of what
would eventually become six years of forgery, bank fraud and various career
impersonations that will make you think of those "No, but I did stay at a
Holiday Inn Express last night" television ads.
Can really has it all, from super-spy/fox Jennifer Garner's appearance as a
high-end hooker, to both of the candidates from this year's presidential
election (Martin Sheen and James Brolin), to a somewhat obscure comic book
reference that, sadly, is ultimately revealed to viewers. The acting is
solid across the board, and Spielberg's (Minority Report) usual
behind-the-camera crew assemble another very enjoyable technical package
that is highlighted by the wonderful period sets. Still, the highlight here
is the story, which deftly plays off the unusual cat-and-mouse relationship
between a flashy criminal who has become a worthy, friendly adversary to a
dull-as-dishwater authority figure with no personal life. Can is a rare
example of a picture getting me to quietly root for a delinquent. That
said, there's still the whole warts issue, and Can never really shows how
Abagnale becomes so adept at forgery.
It's probably completely unintentional, but there's an interesting scene in
Can where Hanratty goes to the home of the senior Frank Abagnale in an
attempt to learn the whereabouts of the man's namesake. There's a bit of
verbal sparring between the two, but the father refuses to give up the son.
Eventually, Hanratty finds a scrap of paper with the younger Abagnale's
address. Keen observers will notice this harkens back to that legendary
scene in True Romance, only this time Walken isn't the eager heavy to Dennis
Hopper's smart-ass dad. Well, that and no point-blank execution.
2:20 - PG-13 for some sexual content and brief language
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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 825577
X-RT-TitleID: 1118711
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X-RT-AuthorID: 1146
X-RT-RatingText: 8/10