Interesting cat-and-mouse game

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2002)

***Possible Spoilers***
Two mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse drowned. The second mouse kicked its legs until it churned the cream into butter, and it crawled out and lived. Director Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can tells the story of both types of mice in this cat-and-mouse detective drama based on the life of Frank William Abagnale, Jr. The script contains major holes, but audience members forgive unexplained details because of screenwriter Jeff Nathanson's intricate and well-written script. Every event and clue has a satisfying albeit predictable payoff, and the continuous scheming of Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) keeps the viewer constantly wondering what will happen next. Nathanson began with incredible material from Abagnale and Stan Redding's same titled novel, and he, Spielberg, and the cast turned this unbelievable history into an engaging film enhanced by a convincing and laudable performance by DiCaprio.
Catch Me If You Can is told in retrospect to add to the outlandish nature of the situation. Abagnale first appears as a scruffy but very young man-one with peers who rightfully act like teenagers with juvenile preoccupations. But by this time people have already called Abagnale a teacher, a doctor, a pilot, and a lawyer even though he never received any legitimate training in any of the professions. He has traveled the world, intimately known numerous women, thrown fabulous parties, made wedding plans, hoarded large amounts of money, and figured out how to elude the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. Abagnale has lived a lifetime-or more accurately stated, many lifetimes-and done so all before his twentieth birthday.
Spielberg and Nathanson presented DiCaprio with an actor's dream. Abagnale is a criminal, but he is a lovable criminal with good intentions and a desperate need to escape his loneliness. The character's choices drive the plot, but his personality makes the movie. DiCaprio delivers an awkward performance as the sixteen-year-old Frank, but one cannot criticize too quickly as the character must have struggled outside of his alter-ego existence. Abagnale slips into the shoes of a twenty-eight-year-old physician with ease, but his own youthful sneakers never seem to fit. Abagnale's multiple roles require him to learn and imitate a variety of professions, but his disposition remains constant. His charm woos the women, and his confidence and masterful use of language persuades even the greatest skeptic to believe his assertions. DiCaprio's performance defines smoothness, and his choices illuminate the humanness of a man who chose a life of crime in order to escape a reality he could not accept.
Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent duped for years by Abagnale's trail of bad checks and Christmas Eve phone calls. His acting is only surprisingly adequate as the no-nonsense government agent, and is certainly not noteworthy. The part does not demand much versatility, and Hanks' obvious reactions and other mediocre acting choices elicit little sympathy or interest in Hanratty's persona. He is legitimately ultra-serious and focused on his career, but Hanks fails to create a sufficient amount of dimension in a character purposely written without a lot of apparent depth.
The cat-and-mouse game and Abagnale's unusual situation provides over two hours of quality entertainment, but the many subplots and themes complete the film and make it memorable despite its minor flaws. Jennifer Garner joins the cast to add more star-quality to the picture in a superfluous role, and Martin Sheen also appears with a bit part as a rich and influential attorney. Christopher Walken completes the list of celebrities with an admirable performance as Frank William Abagnale, Sr., who teaches his son how to be the mouse that churns the butter and lives but who ultimately drowns in the cream. Nathanson wrote a story about a long game of hide-and-seek for the screen, but he also wrote a story about complicated family dynamics, love and loneliness, and the complex relationship between a criminal and his lawful pursuer.