Perfect Balance

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2003)

Credibility is an odd thing - either you have it or you don't. And one of its key elements is believing you have it yourself. If you act in a certain way, people will respond in a certain way. This theme which was so beautifully portrayed in "Being There" is central to Catch Me If You Can. Early in the film, Frank Abagnale sees a pilot and notices that everyone around him adores and admires him, and most importantly, does not question him when he cashes a cheque. Solution: Become a pilot. All you need is lingo (which he gets by fawning over an airport official) and a uniform (which he cons his way into).
From here, we get the story of one of histories great con men, who before his 23rd birthday has successfully convinced people he was a pilot and doctor and a lawyer and had passed $4,000,000 of bad cheques. It it s wonderful light and entertaining ride.
Catch Me If You Can is a major accomplishment for most directors, but for Speilberg, it is like a weekend off - a movie he made to take a break from making movies. Not to say that it is bad - it is a chase movie with more laughs than most comedies and extraordinary attention to detail. It recreates the innocent, pre-Vietnam 60's beautifully, a time when an airline pilot had instant credibility and charm.
The movies three leads, DiCaprio Hanks and Walken are all at the top of their game. Having fun with there roles while at the same time creating memorable characters we care about. FBI agent Carl Hanratty is a dry-as-toast career fed with little more in life than the crooks he chases, but still, Hanks gives him depth and a personality. Christopher Walken is perfect is an odd role for him as Frank Sr., the beloved and hapless father of the anti-hero lead, who never quite gets the breaks in life he wants or deserves.
But In Abagnale Jr Leo Di Caprio creates a criminal character we cheer for. As I watched this film, I was simultaneously cheering for both the bad guy and the cop.
A tad over long, but Catch Me If You Can is a movie worth watching, and even owning. ***1/2 out of ****.