Metro Pulse/Movie Guru/Catch Me If You Can

Movie Guru Rating:
Enlightening (4 out of 5)

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on this review

Deception is delightful in Catch Me If You Can

by Adrienne Martini

Clothes make the man, conventional wisdom says, and never was that more true in the mid-1960s, that halcyon time right before America lost its unshakable faith in authority figures. Pre-Nixon, pre- hippie, pre-women's lib—this country appeared to believe that outward appearance was a firm indicator of inward demeanor. Without this, Frank Abagnale would never have been able to convince all those he came in contact with that he was a pilot or a doctor or a lawyer.

Of course, that may be selling Abagnale short. He is, by all accounts, still a pretty charming guy who may have been able to con unsuspecting bank tellers and candy stripers whilst wearing nothing but his skivvies. The world will never know.

Film itself is just as beauti-fully deceiving as one of Abagnale's schemes. Because of the clothes the actors wear coupled with the setting that they're in, we suspend the knowledge of the truths we know, such mundane tidbits as actor Leonardo DiCaprio's peccadilloes with waifish models or the certainty that what is masquerading as Miami is actually just a backlot in Hollywood. We believe because we want to believe. If it's all done with the right skill and panache, we fall for it like rubes. And we pay for the privilege.

Catch Me If You Can, which is based on the real Abagnale's autobiography, snares you from the first moment of its playful Saul Bass-inspired opening credits. This is a project for which no detail has been overlooked. Director Steven Spielberg has effectively set up the long con and we're with him almost every step of the way.

Which is unusual, given Spielberg's track record. Even his "important" projects like Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List always come off ham-fisted and manipulative. We know when he's jerking us around and are constantly aware of his directorial presence. "You should be paying attention to this," he always seems to be screaming. But we were already paying attention, simply because Spielberg has a knack for finding a good story, and his constant flagrant attempts to provoke emotion irritate and distract.

Spielberg's touch is surprisingly light in Catch, with only one maudlin moment near the end marring the film's glossy sheen. Here, Spielberg puts on the stylistic clothes of another Steven—Soderbergh, this time, in his Ocean's 11 slick incarnation. Catch doesn't feel like a film made by the same auteur whose sticky thumbprints are all over A.I. and E.T.

It helps, of course, that the lead actor could peddle sex to nuns. DiCaprio has already more than proven his acting skills with his Academy Award nominated role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. With all of the hoopla surrounding Titanic, what got lost was DiCaprio's uncanny ability to make you believe he's more than just a movie star young girls swoon over. He falls headlong into his parts and, even in dogs like The Man in the Iron Mask, something about his sly-but-engaging grin makes you fall for the lies he's spinning. Call it the Newman/Redford effect, where you secretly hope that the bad guys win simply because they're so dang appealing.

The same could be said of Tom Hanks, who plays cat to DiCaprio's mouse. While he never really had Teen Beat boyish good looks to propel his career into orbit (it's hard to picture girls pinning Forrest Gump posters to their bedroom walls), Hanks still has an aw-shucksy charm that sucks you in. Here, as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, Hanks puts on a New England accent and a by-the-books directness that contrasts with his usual menschness. You still like Hanratty, of course, just like you liked Hanks in A League of Their Own, but it's not as easy as it was in Big or Sleepless in Seattle.

Ultimately, what wins you over in Catch is its pure, bubbly energy, a joi de vivre that just can't be held down. Abagnale's story feels too good to be true. He was a boy-genius who convinced almost everyone he came in contact with that he was exactly what he claimed to be. When that ruse was snapped after six years and over $4 million scammed, Abagnale parleyed his skills into a career as an authority on forgery and document security, working for the same feds who caught him—and permanently springing himself from prison in the process. It's an irresistible story, told with a gleam and a wink. And you buy Spielberg's celluloid con without reservation.