Spielberg's Most Successful Comedy

Rating: 8/10 (3 September 2009)

Films directed by Steven Spielberg tend to fall into two categories. On the one hand we have large-scale action blockbusters like "Jaws", "Jurassic Park", "War of the Worlds" and the Indiana Jones films. On the other, there are those would-be Big Movies about Big Subjects like racism ("The Color Purple", "Amistad"), war ("Empire of the Sun", "Saving Private Ryan"), the Holocaust ("Schindler's List") and life after death ("Always").
"Catch Me If You Can", however, does not fall easily into either category. It is a light-hearted comedy based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr., a young man who, while still in his teens, successfully impersonated a Pan-Am pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, and who managed to dishonestly obtain millions of dollars through cheque fraud. He was so skillful that after his arrest and imprisonment the FBI secured his release on parole so that he could work for them as a counter- forgery expert. He is today a millionaire, having made his fortune as a consultant advising banks on how to counter cheque forgery.
This was the first film which really convinced me that Leonardo DiCaprio could act. Previously I had not always been his greatest admirer; he struck me as an untalented pretty-boy when I first saw him in "Titanic", and there was little in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Beach" or "Gangs of New York" to persuade me to change my mind. Here, however, he was able to turn his boyish good looks to good use. He was 28 when the film was made, but always seems credible as a teenager- an important point, as Frank's youth is a vital element in the film.
The film is set in the 1960s, the period which has gone down in popular culture as the Age of Youth or the Age of Rebellion. (This is emphasised by the animated opening title sequence, a witty pastiche of those favoured by sixties filmmakers). Frank's form of rebellion, of course, is rather different to those who were protesting against Vietnam or in favour of the legalisation of cannabis, but he can nevertheless still be seen as a youthful rebel. The main influence on him is his father Frank Abagnale Sr, a businessman who has got into trouble with the authorities because of a series of tax frauds, which have led to the family living in poverty and to the breakdown of his marriage. Frank Jr sees his father as being the victim of unjust persecution by the authorities, and resolves to continue his father's war against "the system". It is notable that Frank Jr is from a broken home, as divorce and family breakdown seems to be something of a Spielberg trademark. (Ray Ferrier, the protagonist of "War of the Worlds", is for example a divorcée).
DiCaprio here succeeds in the difficult task of making a criminal seem sympathetic. It helps, of course, that Abagnale's crimes were non-violent and that his main victims were large corporations, but the main reason why he is the hero of this film and not the villain is his youth. What in an older man would seem like rank dishonesty becomes, in a teenager, an almost admirable nerve and daring. Frank carries off his deceptions with such style and aplomb, remarkable in one so young, that we see him as a likable rogue rather than a villain.
There is a curious relationship between Abagnale and Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent charged with tracking him down. Whereas Frank is quick-witted and formidably intelligent, Hanratty seems slow and plodding. Although Frank outwits him on a number of occasions, Carl continues to pursue him with dogged determination. Although the two men are on opposite sides of the law, there is nevertheless a bond between them. Both are loners; Hanratty is obsessively dedicated to his work, although he is well aware that bank fraud, his specialist area, is not regarded as glamorous or particularly important by his colleagues in the Bureau. A curious ritual develops whereby Frank calls Carl every year on Christmas Eve. It is perhaps unsurprising that the two eventually become friends after Frank's release from jail.
DiCaprio receives good support from Tom Hanks as the dogged Hanratty, Christopher Walken as Frank Sr. and Martin Sheen in a cameo role as the father of Frank's girlfriend Brenda. (She is a nurse in the hospital where he is posing as a doctor). The film may not have the moral worthiness of some of Spielberg's Big Subject movies, but it is witty, stylish, fast-moving and often amusing. In my view it is Spielberg's most successful attempt at comedy. 8/10