Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

8/10

Starring

Leonardo DiCaprio

Tom Hanks

Christopher Walken

Directed by Steven Spielberg

The moment my friend told me there was a movie being directed by Steven Spielberg starring Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken, I was hooked. Back then, I wasn’t much of a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, mainly because I wasn’t into Titanic. But this movie placed him front and center, earning my respect as an actor. The film is more than captivating—you’re constantly impressed by the cons Frank pulls off and how he always seems to stay one step ahead.

The movie is based on the book Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale Jr. and Stan Redding. Frank Abagnale was an incredible conman who, by his nineteenth birthday, had pulled off cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a pilot, a doctor, and a prosecutor. But Frank’s main con was check fraud. He was so good at it that he eventually started working for the FBI to catch other fraudsters.

The movie introduces us to a young man with the confidence of a god. After hard times hit his father, Frank Sr. (Christopher Walken), the family had to move. Frank’s mother began having an affair with his father’s friend, and Frank was devastated by everything happening at home.

When he started at a new school, a bully tried to intimidate him. Frank decided to get revenge by posing as the teacher in the bully’s class. He embarrassed the bully and continued to teach for a week until he was caught trying to take the class on an excursion.

When his parents separated, Frank ran away from home. Once his money ran out, he started his life of scams.

He stole millions while posing as a pilot and continued his cons until FBI bank fraud agent Carl (Tom Hanks) began tracking him down. Their paths crossed when Frank outsmarted Carl with another bold con, posing as an officer and making Carl feel foolish.

The chase between the two begins, and we see Frank grow more confident, switching jobs and committing more frauds. He eventually leaves the U.S. for Europe, continuing his life of deception. But being young, his youth gets the best of him. He falls in love, and things start to unravel.

Catch Me If You Can is one of the best movies by both Hanks and DiCaprio. If you haven’t had the chance to see it, I highly recommend taking the time to watch it. The movie is truly amazing.