A scam done in style and with a smile

Rating: Null/10 (21 February 2003)

If there were an award for the best credits presentation, the opening sequence of Catch Me if You Can designed in the style of the 1960's detective comic strips would be a winner. Overall, the movie's art-director deserves an award for the recreation of the 1960's style, complete with those bright monochrome shirts worth hundreds of dollars now.
The biggest award for this captivating story, though, snatched the real Frank Abagnale Jr. He did it through those bank fees we pay now every time we're forced to write a real check (whose security features he, very likely, helped design) instead of easily pasting one up from fancy stationary, decals and John Doe's surrender to the force of blinding looks. All of the above he managed to use himself running one of the greatest laser-printer-free scams of the 20th century that leaves our eyes wide open and our jaws dropped.
This movie is like a chess-game puzzle printed in a newspaper: we know who will win but we are intrigued by the strategy and the ultimate chase. It is never high-speed, but just like a chess-game, develops move by move. As viewers, we are more likely to side up with the con artist (Leonardo DiCaprio) than with his FBI hunter (Tom Hanks).
Abagnale Jr. doesn't come across as an inveterate rogue--he is cold-blooded, but not a mean bastard (unlike Mr. Ripley, for instance.) Why are we on his side? Maybe because he does more harm to the system (that we probably wouldn't mind getting screwed sometimes) than to defenseless individuals, to whom he is actually quite considerate.
One episode that isn't quite clear-the TV show the movie opens with.
The movie is definitely worth seeing, because it leaves you inspired.