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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Catch Me If You Can
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  out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
4 stars out of 4
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Once again, truth is stranger than fiction, and this enthralling
cat-and-mouse game was inspired by the exploits of audacious Frank W. Abagnale
Jr., known as the Skywayman. From the time he ran away from his troubled home at
age 16 to his capture at 21, Abagnale passed himself off as a co-pilot on Pan
Am, an Emergency Room physician, a lawyer and a millionaire. He was so skilled
at 'paperhanging' (check fraud) - and had such chutzpah - that, for years, he
was able to outwit and outmaneuver FBI Agent Carl Hanratty, who patiently
pursued him around the world while developing a curious surrogate-father/son
relationship with the daring identity thief. While Leonardo DiCaprio is engaging
as the self-assured, elusive master of deception, it's Tom Hanks' dogged
determination as the stodgy agent that resonates, along with Christopher
Walken's poignant portrayal of Abagnale's father, a glib, small-town jeweler in
trouble with the IRS while desperately clinging to his adulterous French
war-bride (Nathalie Baye). Perceptively directed by Steven Spielberg from Jeff
Nathanson's expertly-plotted screenplay, based on Abagnale's memoir, it's a
cockeyed version of the American dream: a ingenious, jet-setting grifter who
scammed bad checks in 50 states and 26 countries, bilking banks of $2.5 million,
yet who's still haunted by the sins of his parents which fractured his family.
After serving five years, Abagnale was released from prison on the condition
that he teach law enforcement to prevent fraud. Now he has his own security firm
and lectures at the FBI Academy. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Catch
Me If You Can" is an amazing, astonishing 10. For sheer escapist entertainment,
this rebellious rogue's skewed survival game is a winner. It's one of my 10 BEST
MOVIES of 2002.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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