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CATCH
ME IF YOU CAN
4/10
USA
2002 : Steven Spielberg : 140mins
Catch
Me If You Can’s teenage-conman hero Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo DiCaprio)
barely pauses for breath as he skips around the world cashing forged cheques,
passing himself as an airline pilot, attorney and paediatrician with the
FBI’s Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) in dogged pursuit. It’s a terrific story,
and all apparently true as it’s based on Abagnale’s own autobiography
– though why such a self-professed conman’s word should be taken as bond
is a matter for debate. But Jeff Nathanson’s script is a confusing mess,
boiling what should have been an intriguing analysis of power and identity
into yet another sugary potboiler about sons searching for fathers searching
for sons. And Spielberg can’t help “Spielberging it up”, turning what
should have been a zippy, snazzy flick into a leaden, marathon exercise
in hollow Hollywood slickness.
23rd
February, 2003
(seen 18th January, UCI MetroCentre, Gateshead)
click
here for a much longer version of
this review
by Neil
Young
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