Very Entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2005)

After two science-fiction films (AI and Minority Reports) who where not exempt from reproaches but also very attractive, Steven Spielberg stays into the realm of entertainment. But, the reproaches that could be made to his precedent movies, the extravagance and the Hollywood tendency from these projects, are not longer there. With 'Catch me if you can', we can see another facet of Steven Spielberg. He tend to be just like a young director who's searching new approaches, but with a lot of experience: the cast is perfect, the cinematographer is very good and the well trained compositor (John Williams) has the intelligence of producing some kind of new themes.
Where Spielberg hit the point is in his total mastering of the Abagnale - Hanratty pursuit which, instead of being made in an epileptic manner, works more on the psychological level of the relationship. This pursuit shows the research of a missing father by a missed child who has no other way to prove his existence than to play with the law. Di Caprio shows, once again, his abilities to act the different facets of the tormented teenager, even if for an actor who is almost in his thirties it's maybe the time to change. Tom Hanks is Tom Hanks, he has nothing to prove.
The only reproach we can make is the stereotyped vision that Spielberg has in his representation of the woman. Nathalie Baye is sympathetic in his French wife role, but it's in fact his whole character that poses a problem :the opportunist French wife who doesn't assume his maternal duty. This role makes us believe that for Spielberg, the subtlety is only a man's thing.
Apart from some imperfections, Catch me if you can is a very good movie...if you like entertainment