CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: A FILM ANALYSIS

  
 
A Film Analysis
Presented to the Faculty of the
College of Criminology
Trece Martires City College
Trece Martires City, Cavite
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Science in Criminology
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

NIEL CHRISTIAN H. GARCIA

2021
INTRODUCTION:

Catch me if you can is a true life story about a boy or a teenager who has
become famous for bank fraud named "Frank Abagnale Jr." If you watch the movie,
Frank has played many different roles in scams and even though he can make a million
dollars in a single check, he is actually good at talking to others. His passion is to scam
people with his psychological mind. Because of his handsome face, he easily gets away
from his targets, and he can do it as much as he wants. The main characters in the film
are Frank Abagnale Jr., played by Leonardo DiCarpio, and Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent
who wants to pursue Frank, played by Tom Hanks, and his father, Frank Abagnale Sr.,
played by Christopher Walken. Lastly, his mother's name is Paula Abagnale, played by
Natalie Baye.

SUMMARY:

Because of his IRS obligation, Frank's father lost their home and his car, so the
family decided to find another home, but his mother cried because she didn't want to
leave their old house because it was full of memories of them. It's Frank's first day at his
new school when he decides to impersonate the substitute teacher, since it's the first
time he's ever "coned" someone. True, the moment with the substitute instructor shows
Frank the power of deception. It is his first time deceiving a person, but suddenly the
real substitute teacher enters their room, but Frank just tells her that the teacher called
her here to be the substitute teacher and the old woman is angry because she was too
old to get back and forth to her house and it was a waste of money. Due to his father's
debt, his parents decided to separate, but on the day of the legalization of his parents'
separation, Frank was asked at the last moment by their attorney who he would go with
his father or mother. . Because he was confused, he thought he would run away to
forget those things. Frank went to the train station to go to his destination, but when he
paid the cashier, he did not accept his check because it was not received but cash only.
Frank wondered how he could survive. He did everything he could to find a recipient,
checking with other bank information, but he just failed. The second time, while he was
walking outside the bank, he saw someone wearing a pilot's suit. Because of this, he
decided to find an excuse to accept his check for the second time. He is a successful
master of bank fraud in many cities, and not only for bank fraud. He is also a con artist.
He was disguised as a co-pilot, a doctor, and many more. Carl Hanratty, an FBI Agent,
was charged with a bank fraud case in their city when he found out where Frank was.
He immediately arrested Frank, but Frank pretended to be a member of the Secret
Service named Barry Allen, but Carl did not believe him and wanted to clarify Frank's
identity. So he took Frank's wallet. As Carl opens it, Frank thinks of interrupting it in
case the person they are looking for is caught and it will be taken to their agency, where
Carl is convinced by what Frank told him. The last time Frank decided to leave with him
the machine for printing checks and also a few finished checks, he told Carl to provide
evidence, and this was easily convinced by Frank because it looked like a trusted
person. And there, Carl was infected by Frank, who left the room. Carl insisted on
returning his wallet to him, and Frank refused, saying "I'll have trust in you". But Carl
calmed and accepted it. Carl tries to open the wallet and he is dumbfounded to see
what is inside the wallet and he finds out that the culprit was just talking to him recently
and that all of it was just a fraud. When Frank found out that he was about to be caught,
he immediately changed his appearance. He pretended to be a doctor, and Frank
stopped giving posts to his father about being a pilot. Until he pretended to be a doctor,
he met this nurse, Brenda, and the two had a relationship. Because of this, Frank lost
the ability to reunite with his parents again. Frank was introduced by Brenda to his
parents, and in the middle of their discussion, Frank said that not only did he get a
doctorate but also in law. Brenda's father became more interested in Frank because he
was a judge because that's where he convinced his family. Brenda just because she
loves him. Because of Frank's desire to run away from his troubled life and marry
Brenda, he called Carl Hanratty at the last moment to stop hunting him and he stopped
being a con man for a long time because he was getting married. Because of Carl's
desperation to catch Frank, he lied to him that he would stop catching him. But in the
middle of their celebration for the wedding, Carl and some of his colleagues come out
and arrest Frank. In 1960, Frank Abagnale Jr. was apprehended by the police. During
Frank's sentence, the FBI got his custody to work under Carl's supervision on bank
fraud due to his amazing talent of identifying fake checks. He took a bar exam in
Louisiana. When Frank Abagnale Jr. was released from prison in 1974, he helped the
FBI capture people who were forging checks. It is said that Frank designed many of the
secure checks that banks and other companies use every day. In return for his services,
these companies paid him a million dollars a year.

ANALYSIS:

Well, for me, what I liked about Frank's story is how he became an independent person
at his young age. His independent personality teaches us that we cannot always rely on
others to solve our problems; instead, we must be the ones to stand on our own,
because being dependent on others can lead to irresponsibility. However, what I do not
like about the movie is that it might be a bad influence on the children who watch it
because of Frank's actions such as scams, bank fraud, and even being a con artist. His
story does not set a good example for the children. Hence, his story shows us that even
criminals like Frank can work for the government if they have the potential to be one of
the government workers. His story gave us a realization that not all criminals remain
criminals, because it depends on how a person changes his or her life. The story of
Catch Me if you Can has a good realization. In my opinion, I think the movie achieves its
intended goal, which is to make people understand that people can change.

CONCLUSION:

Frank Abagnale Jr. was a late criminal who worked for the FBI to find others who
had committed crimes similar to their own. He is now happily married to Brenda, whom
he met at the hospital while posing as a doctor. Frank Abagnale Jr. became one of the
most trusted people in banks and other businesses as a result of his services, where he
designed more secure bank checks. As a result of his services, Frank was paid a million
dollars a year.

As a young adult, I believe that the true-to-life story of Frank Abagnale Jr. is a
good example of how government officials deal with this type of criminal act. Although
his actions are not a good influence on the minority, his transformation from a criminal
to joining the FBI and capturing people who are committing bank fraud is a good
realization for all criminals that they can be a better person if they want to. As a
criminology student, this story widened our vision to see that arresting a criminal should
not always be by force but it is like building a relationship with someone. A better
understanding and trust are required for criminals to cooperate with the police in a
peaceful manner.