Steven Spielberg has made a lot of great movies. He invented the summer blockbuster. He crafted one of the defining films about World War II. He introduced the world to no less than three stone-cold classic iconic characters before the age of 40. More recently, he explored his upbringing in the fictionalized The Fabelmans. There’s a reason he’s called a master filmmaker, and his ability to tell a story with a camera is in many ways still unparalleled. With so many classics under his belt, we’ve come to categorize an entire group of Spielberg films as “Minor Spielberg”— movies that don’t reach the heights of, say, Jaws, but are still better than 90% of what else is out there. But one “Minor Spielberg” film in particular has been somewhat underrated, although definitely not forgotten. His 2002 effort Catch Me If You Can, which is available to stream on Netflix, is a flighty, sexy, incredibly fun caper, but it’s also one of Spielberg’s most complex — and personal — chronicles of a father-son relationship in his entire career.

What Is 'Catch Me If You Can' About?

Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abegnale Jr lying on a bed holding a fake check in Catch Me If You Can
Image via DreamWorks

Based on a true story, Catch Me If You Can follows the exploits of Frank Abagnale, Jr., who posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer and racked up millions of dollars in counterfeit checks all before his 19th birthday. For the lead role, Spielberg brilliantly turned to the boyish Leonardo DiCaprio, who imbues Abagnale with a youthful immaturity despite his big cons, while also successfully selling the character as someone capable of pulling off such incredible feats. The film begins by introducing Frank’s home life, in which he comes to discover that his mother (Nathalie Baye) has been cheating on his father. When faced with their impending divorce and the fact that he must choose who he wants to live with, Frank runs away, thus beginning his conman adventures. The fracturing of his nuclear family, or the façade of such, is what spurs Frank to fulfill his wildest dreams.

'Catch Me If You Can' Is Steven Spielberg's Most Enjoyable Movie

Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale, Jr. in 'Catch Me If You Can
Image via Dreamworks Pictures

What ensues is one of the most entertaining films of Spielberg’s career. This movie breezes by, using the jet-set era as a backdrop for Frank’s exploits that run from fondue parties to a liaison with a hooker in which, through Frank’s need to use forged checks, she ends up paying him. Working with longtime cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg once again shows his prodigy-like ability to stage shots that are not just gorgeous, but help advance the character development or theme through metaphor or motivated movements. In fact, some of the duo’s finest work is in this film, specifically the Christmas phone calls between Frank and FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) that underline the loneliness of both characters. And John Williams’ jazz-infused score is absolutely some of the best work of his entire career, running the gamut from jovial delight to emotional heartache, sometimes balancing both in the course of a single scene.

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Throughout the film, Frank frequently meets up with his father (Christopher Walken), who’s in trouble with the IRS. Frank works to get his mother and father back together, buying his dad a brand-new Cadillac and suggesting he drive by the house and see his mother, show her how well he’s doing, and make the family whole again. Of course, this can’t work. That’s not how relationships go, and despite his actions, Frank is still a teenager at heart, yearning to put his family back together and return to the blissful ignorance of his childhood.

Steven Spielberg's Connection to 'Catch Me If You Can' Is Deeply Personal

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Image via DreamWorks

Throughout his career, the “absent father” has been a staple, from Close Encounters to E.T. to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Heck, even Hook is all about daddy issues. Spielberg’s father was a workaholic, while he described his mother as “Peter Pan," refusing to grow up and always playful. But when the filmmaker was 19, his parents divorced. His father left, seemingly abandoning the family, and it hit Spielberg hard. That’s reflected in his work and the motif of the absent father who spurns the mother, leaving her to care for the kids. But Spielberg didn’t know the whole truth about his parents’ split.

In the mid-1990s, he rekindled his relationship with his father and finally learned what happened: His father didn’t leave, his mother found someone else. She fell in love with one of his father’s best friends, but his father didn’t want the children to be mad at her, so he took the blame and left. It’s a fascinating story. Much of Spielberg’s work is so impactful because of the absent father motif, and how personal his films were, which did speak to so many people who went through similar traumas. And Spielberg’s trauma was genuine — he felt abandoned by his dad, and he said his mother was never really the same after the split. But after Spielberg learned the truth of his parents’ divorce, that reality was reflected in his work — most explicitly in Catch Me If You Can.

Steven Spielberg Explores His Parents' Divorce in 'Catch Me If You Can'

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Image via Warner Bros.

Just as in Spielberg’s real life, Catch Me If You Can finds the mother falling in love with the father’s best friend, and remarrying. It’s not exactly a 1:1 — in the film, Frank is totally aware of his mother’s infidelity — but its effect on Frank feels personal, as if Spielberg is trying to reach back in time and fix things. Frank is spurred to make a name for himself after his parents’ divorce, and he’s convinced if he makes enough money, if he does enough things, he can put the family back together. That’s what’s driving him. Not greed or lust or the need to act out. He just wants his family back.

We see this reflected beautifully in the scene in which Frank has dinner with Brenda’s (Amy Adams) family and catches a private moment between her parents, in which they’re lovingly dancing together while doing the dishes. This nuclear family literally comes together to watch television, and the look on Frank’s face is one of yearning and happiness. He wants so badly to live this American Dream, and he’s willing to go to fantastic lengths to try and achieve it. Sadly, it doesn’t go that way. His mother’s remarried with a new kid, and while Frank was flying around the world counterfeiting checks, his father died from a freak accident on his commute into New York City. Not knowing what else to do, Frank ran. From his choices, from his responsibilities, and from his family.

Spielberg didn’t run, necessarily, but he did fulfill his dream of becoming a filmmaker, channeling his anger and heartache over his parents’ divorce into films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (which he also wrote) and E.T. And then, when the truth about his family was revealed, he channeled that into Catch Me If You Can, a deceptively entertaining effort that in truth stands as one of Spielberg’s best films. The craft is magnificent to be sure, and the performances are terrific, but it’s that personal touch, the thematic throughline of trying to put your family back together, that really makes Catch Me If You Can soar.

The Big Picture

  • Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Catch Me If You Can is both entertaining and complex, showcasing his ability to tell stories with a camera.
  • The movie follows the exploits of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a conman who posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer before his 19th birthday.
  • Spielberg's own experiences with his parents' divorce and his desire to put his family back together heavily influenced the theme of the movie, adding a personal touch to an already excellent film.