Romp with an Impostor

Rating: 7/10 (5 August 2010)

Steven Spielberg's account of the truly fascinating story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., an impostor and con artist who waltzed from one side of the country to the other in the 1960s, ripping off just about everyone along the way.
The film's period look is a lot of fun, and though the film gets a little sluggish at times -- not a complaint I can usually level at a Spielberg film -- it remains pretty entertaining. My biggest complaint might seem like a nit-picky one, but regular Spielberg collaborator Janusz Kaminski handles the film's cinematography all wrong. Kaminski takes the same approach to lighting his films no matter what the subject: washed out color, backlit interiors. This works for gritty stuff like "Saving Private Ryan" or "Schindler's List," but doesn't for something like this film. But whatever....
Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent on Abagnale's trail and Christopher Walken gives a heartbreaking, Academy-Award nominated performance as Abagnale's washed up dad.
Grade: B+