Master Rank #485

Catch Me If You Can

Name: Catch Me If You Can
Genre: Drama, Crime
Duration: 141 min
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken

2002

GCML Total8.4240% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Steven Spielberg

CastLeonardo DiCaprio · Tom Hanks · Christopher Walken

USA / CanadaEnglishDrama / Crime141 minPG-13

IMDb Top 250Narrative FeatureBrisk pace

Find Where to Watch

Poster artwork for Catch Me If You Can — Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

BAFTA · 1

Spoiler-free premise

A gifted young impostor assumes a series of professional identities while an FBI agent pursues him.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Teenager Frank Abagnale Jr. runs away after his parents' marriage collapses and begins forging checks while posing as an airline pilot, doctor, and lawyer. FBI agent Carl Hanratty recognizes the pattern and pursues him across jurisdictions and holidays.

Why it belongs

Through period design, animated titles, Williams's jazz, and the lonely rapport between DiCaprio and Hanks, Catch Me If You Can shapes fraud as buoyant melancholy.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Checks, uniforms, hotel rooms, airports, television, Christmas phone calls, and John Williams's nimble score make identity a portable performance—Leonardo DiCaprio's speed and Tom Hanks's persistence incrementally reveal mutual isolation.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

BAFTA1 win2003 · official BAFTA 2003 Film Awards results ↗

Supporting Actor2003 · Christopher Walkenofficial BAFTA 2003 Film Awards results ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for

Date Night

Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

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Double Feature

Double Feature V3 · 92% · Exceptional Match

Pair Catch Me If You Can withThe Lady from Shanghai

Why these two?

Through period design, animated titles, Williams's jazz, and the lonely rapport between DiCaprio and Hanks, Catch Me If You Can shapes fraud as buoyant melancholy. Through distorted narration, maritime locations, abrupt editing, and the hall-of-mirrors climax's shattered identities, The Lady from Shanghai makes noir treacherously fluid. Spielberg lets Frank's forged roles become a buoyant search for family while Carl's pursuit develops lonely affection; Welles traps Michael inside contradictory narration, maritime intrigue, and the shattered reflections of a funhouse. The noir turns sympathetic improvisation into treacherous self-loss.

Curatorial connection · violence, guilt, and moral consequenceOrson Welles · USA · 1947 · 87 min

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