In the 1960s, one of the FBI's most wanted men was an 18-year-old high school drop out.
In an amazing four-year spree which ended shortly before his 21st birthday, Frank Abagnale Jr. forged and cashed $2 million worth of cheques.
He also impersonated an airline pilot, high school French teacher, emergency room physician and an attorney.
No one was more shocked to learn the identity and age of this master criminal than the agents assigned to his case.
They had understandably assumed they were tracking a seasoned crook.
Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, based on Abagnale's autobiography, is a wily cat-and-mouse comedy that's as suspenseful as it is funny.
For dramatic purposes, screenwriter Jeff Nathanson creates a single FBI agent named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) who makes it his mission to capture Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio).
This makes the pursuit more personal and it gives Nathanson the opportunity to show similarities between the cat and his mouse. Both men are lonely and feel abandoned by those they love most.
In Abagnale's case it's his mother Paula (Nathalie Baye) who left his father Frank Sr. (Christopher Walken) to marry her husband's best friend Jack Barnes (James Brolin).
Hanratty's divorce gives him limited opportunity to see his daughter because she now lives in a different state.
Once Abagnale is aware of Hanratty's identity, he calls him each Christmas Eve presumably to taunt the agent when actually it's because neither of them has anywhere to go for the holidays.
It's just one of many poignant touches in the film.
Hanratty is definitely a supporting role. Wisely Spielberg cast it with an actor of Hanks' stature and talent because every scene Hanratty is in is crucial to the momentum of the film.
He lends an essential gravity to the movie which otherwise could have been a little too frivolous considering DiCaprio's winning performance.
DiCaprio is positively charming, giving complete credence to Abagnale's many capers.
He imbues Abagnale with a sly confidence that's truly seductive without ever losing the teenager's innocence, whether Abagnale is losing his virginity to a stewardess or telling a pair of interns how to treat an accident victim.
It's a performance that should earn DiCaprio an Oscar nomination but will probably be overlooked and overshadowed by his work in Gangs of New York.
Walken's turn as Frank Sr. is a far and welcomed cry from the wackos the actor has been playing for more than a decade.
Frank Sr. and, ultimately Frank Jr.'s problems, began when he was prosecuted for tax evasion.
The IRS took away the man's home and business but, much worse, his dignity and his dreams.
All the disappointment and discouragement is in Walken's face even though Frank Sr. tries desperately to pretend little has changed.
Spielberg's direction recalls his best work on the Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extraterrestrial and The Sugarland Express.
This is unquestionably mainstream, popular entertainment moving with the jauntiest of paces, but it is also the study of two men looking desperately for love, acceptance and approval.
Do yourself a favour and catch this movie as quickly as you can.
(This film is rated PG)
More Movie Reviews
