MovieChat Forums > Catch Me If You Can (2002) Discussion > Life on the run from the FBI

Life on the run from the FBI

posted 4 months ago by Wuchak (8837)
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This was inspired by Frank Abagnale Jr's tales about his life. It comes in the tradition of films like "To Catch a Thief" and "The Great Impostor," albeit with the more modern tone of "The Fugitive" (1993), minus the great action sequences of that film.

You can watch the real-life Abagnale in his appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1978 on Youtube; he shares several of the stories that made it into the movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIYtKR24LQs). Whether or not they're true is another story (he was a conman, after all), but they make for an entertaining movie set in the '60s.

The script was based on Abagnale's autobiography, which is more of a biography since he sat down with Stan Redding for a few interviews. Then Redding wrote the actual book, tweaking it for the purposes of entertainment. Abagnale said about 80% of it was accurate. As for the movie, he said some things are off, like the fact that he didn't keep in touch with his dad after running away, not to mention he had two siblings and his mother never remarried. Also, the plane escape took place through the kitchen galley, not the toilet in the rest room. Lastly, the character of Hanratty (Hanks) is a composite of several FBI agents who pursued him.

Amy Adams appears in a secondary role; she was 26 during shooting, but looked like a teenager. Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Banks and Ellen Pompeo have smaller roles.

It runs 2 hours, 21 minutes, and was shot in several locations, including Burbank, Downey, New York City (and nearby Orange, New Jersey), LA International Airport, Ontario International Airport, Quebec City and Montreal.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8822) 4 months ago

It's a wildly entertaining film, and one of Spielberg's best, but at least according to what I've heard, a lot of it--more than he has admitted--comes from Abagnale's imagination. As you say, he was a con artist. Exactly how much of it is true, I think only he can say.

As a piece of entertainment though, it's great. I recall thinking at the time that we were seeing Leo's transition from a teen idol to an adult actor. There were a few "transition movies" that he did around this time, including this one, Gangs of New York and The Beach, where it was like he was caught in the middle between his teen idol phase and being a full-fledged grown-up. By the time he did The Aviator and then The Departed, the transition was complete.

This is easily a Top 10 Spielberg film for me.