Catch Me If You Can (2002)
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Catch Me If You Can Movie Review
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 biographical film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s a very insubstantial flick.
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“Stop chasing me!
I can’t stop, it’s my job“
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Notorious con artist Frank Abagnale has duped people worth millions of dollars with his masterful art of deception. With his scams getting bolder, he is soon pursued by FBI agent Carl Hanratty. I do realize that all of this actually happened despite it feeling so implausible and movie-like, but I still fail to see the point to this story. Maybe it is inspirational to people who have done something wrong, but can actually give back to society and receive forgiveness at the end of the day, but the movie did not explore any of that properly, so what we are left with is one giant candy machine and not much else unfortunately.
Yes, this is the most Spielbergian of all Spielberg movies and that says a lot. It is so incredibly emotionally manipulative and saccharine that it honestly sickened me. Maybe that’s a cynic in me talking, but I simply could not take this movie seriously due to all of the attempted touching scenes every now and then. The lightweight tone is also a problem. I do not have a problem with lightweight movies in general, but this one is light to a fault. It’s also extremely episodic in nature, which made it more suitable for the television than the cinematic treatment.
The acting is the best thing about Catch Me If You Can undoubtedly. Both Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio were superbly cast and both delivered a splendid job. I liked their relationship, though again it was overly manipulative. But the characterization and acting are so strong and are the best reasons to see this film. In a much smaller role, Christopher Walken makes a good impression, and he ended up with an Oscar nomination.
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The cinematography is good, the dialogue is solid and the score is fine. But because it was so immensely episodic in nature, it never felt like a movie to me, and it’s by far the director’s least cinematic output. It’s also one of his most overrated features.
