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By
TERESSA ELLIOTT
This Steven Spielberg film, ostensibly based on true events, about con man extraordinaire Frank
Abagnale, Jr. (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is a fun romp for the director and stars and thus, for the audience. Con man
Abagnale supposedly worked as a doctor, a lawyer and as a co-pilot for a major airline before he was even 18 and
DiCaprio is charming enough (and young enough) to pull off a performance that leads you to see how the real Abagnale
could have pulled it off.
A master of deception and an excellent forger, Abagnale was also a bank robber and acquired over $4 million by passing
bad checks and that's where Tom Hanks comes in -- as FBI Agent Carl Hanratty hot on Abagnale's trail. Christopher Walken
was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his turn as Abagnale's supportive father -- a well-deserved
nomination.
The DVD extras do not include a director's commentary (which would have been nice given the celebrity status of the
director himself), but Spielberg talks enough on the extras that are included that you don't feel disappointed. The
extras include the featurette "Behind the Camera" (where Spielberg calls this film his "dessert" after the dark
"Minority Report"), a feature on casting (where we find out that DiCaprio was always on board as Abagnale), a feature on
scoring, a feature on the real Abagnale and a feature on the FBI perspective (probably meant to deter future forgers
from attempting what Abagnale managed to do). While each feature is relatively short, the nuggets of information given
are illuminating and mostly funny -- which makes the viewer forgive their brevity. |
