No kind of everyman

Rating: 6/10 (29 August 2009)

The story of Frank Abegnale Jr., teenage conman extraordinaire, should make for an entertaining movie; but in Stephen Spielberg's hands, the story falls a little flat. Partly this is due to the casting of the dull Leonardo di Caprio in the leading role; and partly because the careful reconstruction of the 1960s is too familiar from countless other movies to be interesting in itself. Mostly, however, the film loses impact because of Spielberg's apparent determination to weave boringly quintessential themes into his story; instead of an epic tale of derring-do, at times it unfolds like a dull tale of a kid who loves his family trying to live the American dream. This may or may not be how it happened; but personally, I think there would have been more interest in the movie without the attempt to depict its frankly remarkable anti-hero as some kind of everyman.