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It's always a tricky business, making a film where the hero
is a criminal. If you get it wrong, the audience gets confused
as to whether they should be cheering for or booing at the main
character. No such problems when you're Steven Spielberg, the
master of audience emotion. There is no doubt here who the hero
is, with all the audience sympathy drawn straight to the notorious
con-man, despite the staggering enormity of his crimes.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank William Abagnale Jr, who, as
a teenager in the 1960s, pulled off some of the most audacious
frauds in history. Whilst barely out of high school, he managed
to pose, at various time, as an airline pilot, a doctor, a schoolteacher,
a Secret Service agent and a lawyer - all the while accumulating
and spending a fortune via a remarkable series of cheque frauds.
The key people in Frank's life during this period are his parents
(Christoper Walken and Natalie Baye), Brenda (Amy Adams) the
girl he meets and gets engaged to, and Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks)
the FBI agent who pursues Frank the length and breadth of the
country.
The story is mostly told in a light hearted fashion. Frank
is portrayed well by Leo as a loveable rogue who has suffered
misfortune (the breakup of his parents marriage and the loss
of his father's business hit him hard) and whose crimes are
committed against large faceless organisations, rather than
innocent individuals. This light heartedness extends to the
antagonist Agent Hanratty who is not an evil villain, but simply
a boring public servant doing his job. The conflict between
Frank and Carl is no fight to the death, but more a friendly
chase. The two even seem to converse every Christmas.
The only scenes of any emotional depth are those involving
Frank's fatherr, with Walken at his wonderful edgy best. This
father-son bond is at times confusing but mostly poignant. Unfortunately,
the same depth is not brought to Frank and Brenda's romance
which is handled in a bit of rush so you are not really sure
whether the whole thing was another of Frank's elaborate ruses.
This is all not surprising from Spielberg who has always had
a fascination with broken families and flawed parents, but seldom
potrays romance well.
The 60's setting has been given particular attention, from
the clothing and styles through to the touching innocence of
people who treat airline pilots as superstars and ask for their
autographs. The music and the Pink Panther-esque opening credits
all create the same atmosphere; this film seems meant to be
seen as whimsical and light hearted.
Because this is based on a true story, the plot does have a
few weak spots that might not be there if the screenplay was
written from scratch and possibly runs for a little longer than
it needed to. However, it is this reality that provides the
main fascination - the disbelief that someone could really do
the stunts that Abagnale managed to pull off. All in all, a
pretty tidy film - a must-see for DiCaprio fans, and an interesting
journey for all. Guaranteed to have you look twice at the next
cheque you recieve.....
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