Hallelujah! Spielberg's back!

Rating: 10/10 (23 June 2004)

In the crafty hands of Spielberg, a novel long having been considered as unintriguing, becomes an excellent piece of work. The autobiographical novel, written by Frank Abergnale, tells of a counterfeit-savvy teenager's three-year stint at eluding the FBI by posing as a pilot, doctor, and teacher in the 60s.
Abagnale's story, first published in 1980 was shopped around for weeks to studios before being picked up. After seeing this movie, I'm sure you'll have trouble thinking of it as unexciting. However, looking at it from a different angle, is a form of crime such as passing bad checks is nothing visually compelling and it doesn't lend itself well to base a whole movie about?
To this I credit Spielberg, who once again creates an exciting and fun movie, that families can get excited about seeing come holiday season. Spielberg, essentially, takes the stories and infuses it with a couple of familiar elements: a lost youth struggling with the abandonment of a father figure (or in this case, his actual father), as well as a cat-and-mouse chase. The former is something which we can relate to more than we consciously realize and the latter is something which adds suspense and fun to the story. The alienated youth theme has popped everywhere in Spielberg's movies, from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to AI and everywhere in between. At the same time, I wouldn't call Spielberg's work, unoriginal or recycled, since he mixes these motifs in different combinations with other dramatic elements and the story itself is quite fresh.
Quality seeps out of every element in the film, from its score and sets to its dialogue and acting. I never thought I'd ever hear myself say this years ago, but Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a great performance, shedding aside his `Who needs acting when I'm a sex-symbol' attitude of old, and immersing himself in the role with all the vulnerability, despair, and aptitude it entails. Tom Hanks, of course, matches up to DeCaprio, line by line, as Hanratty, the FBI investigator who chases him for three years. The relationship of mutual respect between the two, and eventual lifelong friendship, is truly heartwarming. In Hanks' interpretation of the part, there is not just mutual respect but frustration bordering on obsession, as he borrows a page from the inspector in Les Miserables. Christopher Walken also has a big role as the father, with whom DiCaprio's character is very close.
The film is not only a joy in itself but a positive sign in this new century that the work of a skilled storyteller such as Steven Speilberg can still hold up after all these years.