A light hearted look at life on the run!

Rating: Null/10 (1 December 2003)

"Catch Me If You Can" directed by Steven Spielberg is a light hearted look at a man's life as he tries to accumulate as much wealth as he can in order to replace the happiness that he has lost. Throughout the whole movie witty con-artist Frank Abagnale Jr. played by Leonardo DiCaprio accumulates a lot of money, but is continually searching for the love, security and acceptance he lost when he was a teenager. While he is searching for these things he has a constant pursuer in FBI Agent Carl Hanratty played by Tom Hanks.

DiCaprio ploys his trade as a con-artist to get what he wants in several ways, everything from being a pilot, a lawyer and even a doctor. All the while he continues to run from Hanks. While still a teenager DiCaprio runs away from his home, and finds that he is suddenly without anyone and anything, thus he begins his wild ride of dishonest fortune. While practicing his many trades DiCaprio has the time of his life getting the money and not to mention the girls. One such time he goes to a college to recruit girls to be flight stewardess. After he chooses the 'qualified' ones we then see him with a girl on each arm and the rest surrounding him with a huge smile on his face. However, his loneliness and searching for happiness is also seen several times in the film. For example several scenes that show this in the movie is when DiCaprio calls Hanks and just wants to talk with him. He does this just because Hanks is the one constant in his life that is always there. He has no one else around him and he is lonely.
`Catch Me If You Can' has great use of lighting and coloring. In the movie when DiCaprio is living it up both the lighting and colors are light and bright giving off even more of a sense of happiness. When DiCaprio is down and lonely the lighting plays a big part and is kept darker, especially when he is in prison.
`Catch Me If You Can' in a way reminds me of `Oceans Eleven'. Both of these movies look at the light hearted side of the criminal lifestyle and they both depart from the directors, Steven Spielberg and Steven Soderbergh, usual style of directing, yet both are great movies.

This film shows off Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks great acting talents as they bring to life the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr.