My Favorite Movie of 2002

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2002)

"Catch Me If You Can" caught me. It is story of the life and times of Frank Abignale Jr., played deliciously by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film floats effortlessly on a cloud imagined by director Steven Spielberg. Walking out of "Catch Me If You Can", I was giddy with excitement, because I had seen my favorite film of the year.
The look and feel of the film is flawless. Mr. Spielberg has become so at ease in his medium that his movies feel natural like sitting in your favorite chair. The bygone era when commercial aviation was glamorous and Pan Am inspired exotic dreams of travel to far off lands has given way to bankruptcy and no-frills airlines. However, the golden era of glamor lives again through Mr. Spielberg's loving representation. Sinatra sings, and John Williams reminisces the pop jazz era in a sparkling score that has a Mancini "Pink Panther" flair. The energy of possibilities courses through the veins of every scene and I was swept away by the joy on screen.
The story itself is fascinating. We wonder how can a 16 year old runaway get away with writing $4 million in bad checks, fake being an airline pilot, doctor and a lawyer. We find that with style, class, confidence and belief, anything is possible. Mr. DiCaprio is perfectly cast as a boy with a genius for fraud and such a winning personality that we want to be fooled to partake in the fantasy.
Mr. Speilberg also succeeds in creating a realistic psychological portrait of Abignale Jr. by carefully showing Abignale Jr.'s parents before and after divorce.
After Abignale Jr. runs away from home when he is told that his parents are getting a divorce, his life of crime brings a new friend and father figure in his life; ironically it is the FBI agent seeking to arrest him, played by the dependable Tom Hanks. The characters create an interesting relationship of friendly adversaries. Abignale Jr. needs the Hank's character and vice versa. Their relationship is facinating.
I have seen 50 movies this year, and I had not found one film that made me excited, until "Catch Me If You Can" -- my favorite film of 2002.