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| DIRECTED BY |
| Steven Spielberg
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| STARRING |
| Leonardo DiCaprio |
| Tom Hanks |
| Christopher Walken |
| Martin Sheen |
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It was a good decision on the screenwriter�s behalf to quickly reveal to us the denouement of the whole chase between Frank Abagnale Jr., the precocious teenage confidence man, and his dedicated pursuer, Carl Hanratty. Sometimes this would malign a film by destroying some of the suspense, but it should be pretty obvious to everyone who�s about to watch the film that Abagnale ultimately gets captured. So, instead of trying to pull the wool over our eyes, Spielberg and crew focused their attentions on the intricacies of Abagnale�s life (as well as insert exaggerations here and there) in order to make the story compelling.
After all, �Catch Me if You Can� is simply inspired by Abagnale�s life; it�s not a carbon copy of it. I certainly don�t believe everything that is posed as something that could feasibly happen � I mean, airline companies, school boards, and the FBI can only be so stupid for so long. But it�s nonetheless entertaining, with Spielberg taking a very calm and often quite simple approach to his camerawork. Yet through this simplicity, the cinematography still manages to be memorable � check out the tracking shot that follows the pistols in the hands of the agents as they move about the room. The opening title sequence is also an impressively creative series of animations that I won't be forgetting any time soon.
As for the casting, DiCaprio is his regularly charismatic self, whereas Hanks is unbelievably stoic � the dichotomy between these two provides for a pleasurable degree of humor as they try to outsmart one another.
But I just couldn�t appreciate some aspects of the narrative � Abagnale�s sudden love for the dumbfounded Lutheran nurse (which we�re eventually asked to believe to be genuine) left me shaking my head. And I wasn�t too keen on the decision to reveal an important character�s death through dialogue, either. Yet I can�t help but admire Spielberg�s almost inhuman ability to consistently crank out admirable box office hits as often as he does.
