He's the king of set-pieces (Minority Report) to some and the king of sentimentailty (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence) to others, but in Catch Me If You Can, Steven Spielberg proves he's well capable of working with actors too.

Based on the true story, Catch Me If You Can takes us back to a joyously technicolour 1960s and introduces us to Frank W Abagnale (a gloriously charismatic Leonardo DiCaprio), a young man with a grudge. His father (played in mesmerising style by Christopher Walken), a small-time criminal whose tax problems threaten to drag down the whole family into poverty.

His son has some novel ideas for bringing in money. After successfully conning a college class into believing he's their professor, he takes on various other guises in order to win prestige and cash - through the lowly and unglamourous method of cheque fraud.

But his temporary careers - created essentially from uniforms and rudimentary TV dialogue - more than compensate. He woos women and hotel staff by becoming a dashing pilot, finds himself engaged to a brace-wearing nurse when he transforms into a head doctor and then an assistant prosecutor - and Spielberg can't help but admire and sympathise with Abagnale's character throughout.

Of course the baddie - even one as cute and cuddly as this - must get his comeuppance, and assuredly he does. But first a sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving cat-and-mouse chase between Abagnale and FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) takes place.

It's not as though there are any surprises in the offing. Right from the start we are told that he gets caught - by doggedly determined FBI agent Tom Hanks - but the film's purpose is to allow its audience the escapism of enjoying a conman getting away with it before it goes off the rails.

There are some spectacularly cheesy moments - the nurse's brace, an encounter with a prostitute - but in the spirit of enjoyment none of them are out of place. It all calls to mind films of a bygone era - and I'm impressed that Spielberg does the past even better than the future.

DiCaprio and Walken excel - and Hanks is left somewhat in the shade as the rather boring agent, but he once again shows his capability for understating his performance when this is required. He's not the star here - and he seems perfectly comfortable with that.

Jeff Nathanson's dialogue is punchy and clearly ellicits great performances from the cast in Spielberg's capable hands, and John Williams' best score in years bears none of his bombastic hallmarks but fits the period perfectly. It's helped by some well-placed swing hits like Come Fly With Me, these adding to the ambience. And if the film is a tad too long, we find that we don't mind - so captivating is the sequence of events playing on the screen. For thiis is nothing if not a memorable confection of a film, and one that will enhance Spielberg's already towering reputation.

So if you thought Spielberg was a sentimental set-piece specialist, think again. See Catch Me If You Can and admire a master at work - and have a great time along the way.

share:  Facebook | Digg | del.icio.us | more

from the archive Star Trek Meryl Streep INTERVIEW Slumdog Millionaire