Catch Me If You Can
2002 · Directed by Steven Spielberg
Original language: English
- drama
- crime
The story
A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-washed 1960s Americana, all pastel suburban kitchens, fluorescent airport concourses and warm tungsten lamps in hotel rooms, shot with a polished, classical Hollywood gloss. John Williams's jaunty, swinging score carries the restless energy, and Spielberg's camera glides, pans and tracks through crowded terminals and cramped offices with an easy, playful confidence. The mood is breezy and wry, a caper with a melancholy undertow: a bittersweet, almost nostalgic ache beneath the cheek and the chase. Fast-cut montages of forged checks and costume changes keep the rhythm bouncy, while quieter scenes of a lonely teenager longing for his divorced parents' love slow things down. Violence is almost absent; the stakes are reputation, paperwork and the threat of arrest rather than harm, with only mild peril and a few tense moments. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a comfort rewatch or a relaxed evening with friends. It is for viewers who enjoy charming rogues, buoyant period style and a cat-and-mouse chase that is more playful than grim.
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