Catch Me If You Can

• Leonardo DiCaprio: Frank Abagnale Jr.,
• Tom Hanks: Carl Hanratty
• Christopher Walken: Frank Abagnale, sr.
• Nathalie Baye: Paula Abagnale
• Martin Sheen: Roger Strong
• Amy Adams: Brenda Strong
• James Brolin: Jack Barnes
• Brian Howe: Earl Amdursky
• Frank John Hughes: Tom Fox
• Elizabeth Banks: Teller (bank on the switch )
• Steve Eastin: Paul Morgan
• Chris Ellis: Special Agent Witkin
• Jennifer Garner: Cheryl Ann
• Ellen Pompeo: Marcy ( stewardess )

Catch Me If You Can is an American crime caper from the year 2002. Biopic directed by Steven Spielberg based on events in the life of Frank Abagnale W. (* 1948) and a novel by Stan Redding. Abagnale is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who was nominated for his performance for a Golden Globe.

Action

Frank William Abagnale Junior is the youngest impostor and check forger of history. When he has to decide in the 1960s with the divorce of his parents, which parent he wants to grow up, the 16 -year-old makes it and goes to New York. After primitive fraud attempts, he finally managed to successfully forge checks. He can by issuing the checks on distant banks to redeem many of these checks in a city. The checks will be sent by mail to the bank, which it claims issued. In the relatively long periods of time until the checks he can redeem undisturbed more checks arrive there. Because of his admiration for the social position of pilots he decides to continue spending as a pilot. With fraud, it actually manages to free fly with them thousands of miles as a Deadhead and with fake paychecks to finance his life. When the FBI investigators Hanratty puts on his track, Abagnales life to a permanent escape. Despite all that he wants to maintain contact with his father and leave this to share his wealth. However, the declines gifts, as he has the financial authorities for tax liabilities in the neck.

Later he learns in a hospital the nurse Brenda know. Out of love for her, he applied for a job as a senior physician. Although he is actually over-qualified as alleged Harvard graduate, he gets the job. He can by his doctor learned from series jargon to give the impression to actually be physicians, even though he can not see blood.

In order to reconcile the outcast from her family Brenda with this, he holds her hand and says to the family, he was a lawyer and have completed as Brenda's father in Berkeley. In fact, he gets through this a job as a prosecutor. Even during the Engagement Party Frank must, however, continue his escape. He reveals Himself Brenda in the hope that she would accompany him. Since Brenda is shaded, Frank makes one thing only to Europe, but many times as Pan Am pilot.

As he slowly begins to lose his mind, the now internationally wanted Abagnale is in the French province in Mont Richard, his mother's home village, was arrested. He comes to America and convicted, after a short flight to twelve years in prison. But soon he gets the offer to serve his sentence in freedom if he agreed to provide, assist in the fraud department of the FBI in the investigation of check fraud. In fact, he works with success under the ascended Head of the Department Hanratty, who has become a kind of surrogate father to him - his real father was killed in a crash.

Trivia

• Frank W. Abagnale is playing with in a short scene in the film itself. He embodies the French police, who eventually arrested on Christmas Eve in Mont Richard the volatile Frank Abagnale ( DiCaprio).
• Since 11 March 2011, the same musical version of the film is listed in the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. The European premiere took place on October 24, 2013 in the newly opened chamber play of the theater in the Josefstadt instead.
• In Season 15 Episode 18 'catch ' em if you can " the animated series The Simpsons is - not least by the episode title itself - an allusion to the film: A chase sequence is accompanied with the movie theme and shadowy, like the reduced colors and shapes, like the intro built up from the movie is shown.

Criticism

"One of Steven Spielberg directed with great ease nostalgic story that takes viewers into the candy-colored world of cinema of the 1960s. The motivating, but too detailed unhandled father - son conflict occasionally hindered the flow of sympathetic Comedy. "

" What a recovery. As Steven Spielberg had in done with all the stubbornness in the cold, nightmarish underworld of totalitarian surveillance system of ' Minority Report ', which he then did not liked expect without the cloying simulation of a fairy tale end to his audience - and now, amazingly quickly thereafter, he juggles light touch with the components of a classic rogue hunting comedy and colorful toys of the sixties cinemas to conjure an art swindle the luxury class on the screen. "

"After the momentous Saving Private Ryan, AI and Minority Report seems his new movie now almost like a musical finger exercise; an elegant jazz number whose melody and rhythm Spielberg dominated with surprising nonchalance. "

Awards and nominations

• 2004: Grammy Award, Best Soundtrack
• 2003: Award from the Art Directors Guild
• 2003: BMI film music award
• 2004: British Animation Award
• 2003: Edgar Allan Poe Award
• 2003: Harry Award