These characters are very lonely (SPOILERS INSIDE)

Rating: Null/10 (29 June 2003)

This movie is much darker than it seems to be on the outside.(SPOILERS AHEAD)!!
Christopher Walken I think steals the show in his very limited role , allthough Tom Hanks and Leo do their parts convincingly.We see Frank's parents at the beginning at their home dancing and looking very much in love and happy, but things turn very quickly when Frank's mother starts to get involved with another man who was supposed to be a friend of the family ( can't trust anybody).Anyway Frank's parents are forced to divorce and Leonardo Di Caprios character Frank is forced to decide whether he wants to stay with his mom or dad by a simple check of a box on paper.

Totally devastated by what is going on at home Frank decides to take the blank checks Frank's father gave to him and leave home on a life changing escapade of false identity and a search for meaning in his life.At certain parts I thought were very sad especially ,where Frank and his Dad meet up at certain points throughout the film to talk about Frank's false success in life.Christopher walken and Leo shine during these parts more than any other parts of the film.Frank still thinks material items will get his Mom and dad back together and that's just not how life works.The main reason imo Frank goes on this venture is to try and find a way for his parents to get back together through his material success through his false identities, But once reality hits and Frank finds out his Mom is remarried his whole world crashes once again and he wants out of this adventure , which is shown at the bar scene where he calls carl in an attempt to end this fiasco, you really see that Dicaprio's character is still just a young 17 year old kid at this part, very good acting here.
We also find out throughout the film that Carl (Hanks character)is also a very lonely person ,he is a divorced man who hasn't seen his daughter Grace too much since the split and is also looking for a meaning to his life.Carl and Frank sort of build a subliminal bond throughout the film which comes together at the end.
We see Frank towards the very end looking to run away from his problems again but once he finds out nobody is chasing him any more the game is over and decides to live a normal life.It's at this point again that the movie is very subliminally sad , Frank and Carl though not verbally mentioning it to each other actually look at each other and know that they have built sort of a father son relationship through this crazy ordeal and decide to become friends.
Again a much darker film than perceived at first about loss and wanting things back to normal no matter what.Some holes but not enough to render the film , definitely worth a watch.