CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

it was completely un-spielbergish in that it was a low budget film. its adapted from a true story taking place in the 60s. when the book came in 1980, seems it became an instant hit. nice that spielberg made it into a film two decades later.

Leonardo DiCaprio is Frank Abagnale Jr, a guy of 17. but then he's gradually forced into conning his way, as his father's chased by IRS, he's bullied by classmates, wants girl friends & wants 2 live in a big way. he runs away from home and what then happens is unbelievable. he encashes fraudulent checks (he gets Pan AM labels from toy aircraft and sticks 'em onto checks), finds himself flying aiplanes as a co-pilot (poses as a journo and gets to know what a pilot does), talks his way into being a paediatrician (of course with a forged summa cum laude degree from the harvard medical school) and attends bar as assisant prosecutor general! from 1963 to 1969 he'd travelled across the globe, defrauding money to a tune of $ 2.5 million in all the 50 states of the US and in 26 countries.

Tom Hanks as Carl Hanratty is the FBI agent in pursuit of this talented trickster. each time Frank beats him, the first meeting with the agent is a superbly done scene with DiCaprio smooth talking Hanks into believing he's a secret agent too in hunt for Frank.

finally Carl finds Frank in a jail, think somewhere in europe & brings him back 2 the US. what happened afterwrds is that after spending some years in prison, the US govt employed him in producing unfakeable reports, bills and paperworks for major corporations & companies.

nicely done film altogether, tho' not in the ranks of other spielberg movies. the book may not b a teriffic read, but then just wanna read it 2 know mo' abo' this super forger.


(Nov 11, 2003)