DiCaprio, Hanks, Walken, some stolen money and attention to detail.
Written: Jan 02 '03 (Updated Jan 03 '03)
Product Rating:
Pros: Taking a cue from the younger directors, Spielberg shows how its done.
Cons: Spielberg's gliding waltz to the side could be seen as a digression.
The Bottom Line: It is a fine representation of using a lot of style and technique so well that you can not tell. And it furthers the story being told.
Grasping onto the shirttails of Minority Report, which just hit DVD two weeks ago, after its theatrical release on June 21st; Catch Me If You Can is not only a film just as good visually and structurally, Spielberg does the latter one better. While Minority Report was a futuristic look at crime prevention, where a crime stopper becomes an on-the run-criminal. Catch Me If You Can is a jump back to a time before computers and technology, where an on-the-run criminal becomes a crime stopper. It does not take a brilliant man to see the correlation between these stories. One could say that Catch Me If You Can is the reverse negative of Minority Report. Catch Me If You Can is the "True Story Of A Real Fake" as the film's tag line says. It is the tale of Frank William Abagnale Jr. who is supposed to have been the world's greatest con man, whose fraudulent checks amassed the sum of over $4 million. While pretending to be a Doctor, a lawyer and an airline pilot, even passing the Louisiana bar Exam all before the age of nineteen.
Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been unseen since Danny Boyle's The Beach back in 2000, makes his return this holiday season as the lead role of Frank Abagnale Jr. DiCaprio not only has reemerged with this film but also Scorsese's Gangs Of New York. DiCaprio was suited much better for this role as the dapper and suave Abagnale than his character Amsterdam in Gangs Of New York. Which helped DiCaprio in giving a tremendous performance, one not seen since The Basketball Diaries. He is very low-key in most of his scenes, all of his emotions are spoken through looks. It is more dramatic than melodramatic which lends to the film's overall flow.
Tom Hanks pops up in his 2nd teaming with Spielberg in a feature after 1998's Saving Private Ryan (which earned Hanks an Oscar nod) Hanks character this time is the FBI Agent Handratty, who is the top man in the field of bank fraud. Hank's part as Handratty isn't the normal Hanksian role. He is underused for an actor of his stature but for the chemistry and balance of this picture it is just right. His job is to be the pursuer to Leo's pursuee. Hanks is simply a supporting character to drive the first. Which is not to say Hanks was at all underpar. He is rather remarkable as the subdued and stern Handratty.
I feel the greatest performance worth noting is that of Christopher Walken, who plays Frank Abagnale Sr. Frank Sr. is being investigated by the IRS and slowly is being driven poor by the government but still tries to maintain his hope and dignity. This is key in understanding why Frank Jr. does what he does. He wants to take from those who are taking from his father. Not just taking his father but taking Frank Jr.'s life away from him. Soon after his parents divorce is when Frank Jr. begins his running. There is a scene between both Franks at a nice restaurant where Frank Sr., in a modest speech, tries to retain his dignity, which is such a fine performance by Walken that you almost wish the movie was more about him. It is the finest I have seen Walken since Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter in 1978.
Jumping to the filmmakers we of course must give respect to the man himself Mr. Steven Spielberg. The past few years and films we have seen Spielberg reinventing himself. He has carved himself out a quaint little style that is worth noting. It began in 1998's Saving Private Ryan, that small little white glare that popped on screen throughout the film, and then in 2001's A.I. we see it again and used more. A white-wash that illuminates all of the settings and characters and gives it a realistic texture but with a surrealistic touch. Again in 2002's Minority Report we see this M.O. displayed fantastically, and now here in Catch Me If You Can it was used so often and simply that it barely called attention to itself, but made the whole look of the film work. What Spielberg has done, or so it seems, is take a small cue from the younger filmmakers and is being a bit more daring with his surrealistic flares. He has taken all of his style and talent and displayed it here in such a piece of perfection that one would think it was magic.
Other things to look forward to in this picture is Spielberg's regular composer John Williams' amazing score. Janusz Kaminski's brilliant eye for lighting. And Michael Kahn's flawless editing. All three of these gentlemen had worked with Spielberg previously on Minority Report.
And of course a period piece such as this would not work at all without the collaboration of a magnificent team of Costume Designers, Production Designers and Art Directors.
Other things to look for are small quasi-cameos by James Brolin, Martin Sheen and Frank Abagnale Jr. himself.
Clincher: The one thing that made the movie stand out above any other I have seen recently is one small tiny little bit of attention paid to detail. In the scene at the French printing shop, hundreds of paychecks fly in the air as Frank yells "Merry Christmas!"(a clip of this is utilized in the film's trailer) One of these paychecks lands directly on DiCaprio's head during this close up take. However, it then quickly cuts to a wider shot which is part of a different take. And instead of using two takes that do not match and have the paycheck suddenly disappear, a CG paycheck was added to Frank's head in the wide shot to avoid a continuity error. To me this just proves that Spielberg's crew of filmmakers pay attention to every little bit of film all throughout the process. They do not just shoot and try to fit it together, they make it a fine symphony where all of the pieces flow seamlessly. Catch Me If You Can is one of the best pictures, not only of 2002, but of the entire new millenium.
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Frank W. Abagnale's autobiography CATCH ME IF YOU CAN follows the cat-and-mouse chase of Abagnale Leonardo DiCaprio a...More at Family Video
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