Beyond the massive cinematic event of Lord Of The Rings: Two Towers this holiday season is another grand achievement in film that just might be of the same caliber. It goes by the name of Catch Me if You Can, directed by Steven Spielberg and acted out by holiday champs Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio.
In Spielberg's latest we are taken through the windy road of the true story of con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. in the late 1950's. Starting with his father's down spiraling life caused by a tax fraud investigation by the IRS and a divorce with Frank Jr.'s mother, Frank is forced to live on his own and get by in world by any means necessary. Thriving on the knowledge that his father passed down to him, Frank ends up conning his way as a Pan-Am copilot, a doctor, and a lawyer among other things. Keep in mind that he did this before he turned 19 years old.
The performances in this film are stellar. You wouldn't expect anything less from such audience favorites as Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Christopher Walken. I enjoyed DiCaprio's performance in this film much more then I did in Gangs Of New York. His presence felt much more alive in this film then it did in Gangs, and I felt that DiCaprio had a lot more room to stretch his "acting legs" in this film.
Tom Hanks does a wonderful job in this film as well. Although not having as much screen time in this film as I'm sure he's gotten used to, his character plays a pivotal role in the film, not only as Frank's adversary, but as his pseudo father figure as well. The impact is just the same, and now after seeing the film, I don't think anyone could have captured the role as well as Hanks did in the film. You can tell the passion Hanks has for his work more and more with each film he does, and Catch Me if You Can is no different as we watch him portray the bad guy that we all love.
The other performance I want to mention is Christopher Walken's. Though he was only prominent in the first part of the film, he opened this movie with a bang and set the tone for the rest of the film, not to mention the way we saw Frank Jr. throughout it's duration.
It's hard to believe that this film was based on a true story. I mean, if it wasn't would this film really have the same effect? I don't think so. I think audiences would scoff at the scenarios laid before us and retrospectively look back at the film as Hollywood nonsense. But, going into the film knowing that it's been based on a true story, and not knowing the details of the true story, I was left feeling anxious as to see what was going to happen next. With beloved films I've seen in the past that were based on true stories like Blow, I kept hoping that things weren't going to end up badly as we've all seen so many times before. I don't want to give away any kind of ending to the film, but let's just say the ending was a relief.
Spielberg has really outdone himself with Catch Me if You Can. This film is like none other of his works. It carries itself with a very unique style and approach that makes you wonder about Spielberg's abilities as a director of films outside of the Science Fiction genre. Catch Me if You Can was presented in a way that will leave many audience members wanting to know more about the adventures of the young Frank Abagnale Jr., as it did with me.
I applaud Catch Me if You Can in every way.
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