Original and outstanding!

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2002)

Steven Spielberg has a knack for taking stories and making them look like nothing Hollywood has ever produced before. While stories of con men are plentiful, this film is absorbing, convincing, light and touching. It is a perfect holiday film as many of the scenes rotate on various Christmas Eves throughout the 1960's. I suspect that Spielberg drew on the divorce of his own parents when he was young and translated some of that experience in this film, based on a true story, which leads the protagonist (DiCaprio) into a life of clever but ultimately harmless crime and who turns out to ultimately have a successful life. Leonardo DiCaprio is back with a performance that tops his turn in 'Titanic' and he could land an Oscar nomination. In a low key supporting role, Tom Hanks, an 'A' list actor without an ego and one of the most down to earth guys in the world, let alone Hollywood, takes second billing and runs with his part and knows the limits of it and never tries to make the film his own. Christopher Walken will be under rated by most for his performance as DiCaprio's dad and I hope he finds his first Oscar nomination in twenty four years since 1978's 'The Deer Hunter'. It will be a long time coming for a guy that Hollywood never really appreciated throughout the 1980's and 90's but who can act with the best of them.