A hugely enjoyable, masterfully handled minor Spielberg

Rating: Null/10 (7 February 2003)

Back in workaholic mode, Steven Spielberg offers up his surprising latest confection a mere six months after the masterful "Minority Report" - and it's not only the precise opposite of that film's bleak sci-fi dystopia, it's probably his most enjoyable and commercial film in years, which is not to mean it's a disposable lightweight offering. Based on the true story of sixties conman Frank Abagnale Jr., who travelled America posing as a respectable doctor/lawyer/airline pilot and cashing forged cheques throughout but was in fact a New Jersey kid barely out of high school, it's essentially a breezy, swinging comedy where you follow Abagnale's trail of bouncing cheques alongside stoic FBI agent Carl Hanratty, who is always one step behind but begins to come too close for comfort. Underneath the dayglo, Technicoloured gaiety, though, Spielberg is essentially going back to one of his recurrent themes, family and the missing father, since the conman's actions always grow out of his need to earn enough money to make up for his father's debts to the IRS and get his divorced parents back again. However, this is Spielberg's less schmaltzy film in years, preferring instead to play up the free-and-easy smirk of the early to mid sixties (at one point there's a James Bond quote, and it's not an accident), greatly aided by the solid performances of the excellent cast, headed by the rueful Di Caprio as Abagnale and a hilariously deadpan Hanks as Hanratty, with special marks for Walken's poignant performance as the father. Masterfully handled, it's basically a minor entry in Spielberg's oeuvre but undoubtedly his most fun film in years, and it is great fun, even if you can't quite make out why should it run as long as it does - not that you notice.