Spielberg's tribute to 400 Blows

Rating: Null/10 (20 July 2003)

Okay, I'll accept that this is a stretch: if it hadn't been for the scene in which our hero discovers his mother's infidelity, then it would never have occurred to me.
But the similarities go beyond that: this is another film about a young man, abandoned in a sense by his parents, fascinated by the adult world but
unprepared for adult life, who slides into a life of deception.
What's different? First and foremost, the happy ending. It's the truth, I suppose, and it's what we want, in that Abagnale is a likeable, very competent young
man, who succeeds where Doinel failed.
Unfortunately that happy ending also negates what we see about this boy who
wants to be anybody but himself. While he didn't need to remake The Grifters, a little less sunniness at the end might have made a much better movie.