movie synopsis Catch Me If You Can (2002)

movie story Catch Me If You Can (2002)

A pre-credit scene shows an episode of the popular sport display 'to tell the fact' set in 1977 in which three contestants appear claiming to the panelists to be the mythical Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) who impersonated an airline pilot, a legal professional, and medical doctor, in addition to scammed humans on 3 continents for tens of millions of bucks... All before reaching the age of 19.

The film then shifts to 1969, with FBI agent Carl Hanratty Jr. (Tom Hanks) arriving at a French prison to fulfill the flu-afflicted Frank Abagnale Jr, who tries to escape from the prison previous to his extraction to america for a chain of crimes.

The movie then flashes returned to six years in advance. 16-yr-vintage Frank Abagnale Jr lives in New Rochelle, big apple along with his father Frank Abagnale, Sr. (Christopher Walken), and French mother Paula (Nathalie Baye). One morning, Frank's father rouses him out of bed, and Frank then watches as his father cons a lady into lending him a suit for Frank Jr. Frank Jr then drives Frank Sr to Chase Manhatten financial institution, in a ruse to get a loan. When the loan is denied (because of a series of IRS tax frauds through Frank Sr.), the own family is pressured to transport from their grand domestic to a small condominium, with which causes anxiety among Frank's parents.

Frank is then enrolled in a public school. While he hears a few men in his elegance claiming he will be their teacher, Frank then pretends to be the class' alternative teacher. The ruse goes on for every week's time, earlier than Frank's dad and mom are referred to as in to speak about the matter. At the same time as his mom is upset through this, Frank's father is instead inspired by how a ways his son changed into capable of go along with the ruse.

Frank soon realizes that his mother is having an adulterous affair together with his father's friend Jack (James Brolin), however he grows even more appalled while it's miles discovered that his parents have become a divorce. Whilst he's asked with which of his dad and mom he wishes to stay with, Frank runs faraway from home, using a book of tests that his father had given him to con his way into transportation and safe haven. When Frank runs out of money, he tries to apply confidence scams, but is not able to get plenty leverage. Someday, he is taking be aware of a few airline pilots and a few stewardesses checking right into a lodge. Seeing how they are handled almost like royalty, gives Frank an concept.

Acquiring a Pan Am airlines pilot's in shape and gaining knowledge of extra about the airline (underneath the guise of a pupil doing a report), Frank is soon able to not simplest get his fake Pan Am tests cashed, however also claims to be a dead-head pilot on several activities, flying throughout the usa at no cost.

In the meantime, Carl Hanratty, the nearly humorless however continual FBI agent, receives phrase of the faux Pan Am exams, and starts offevolved to try to track down the offender. Tracking the modern falsified test to a hotel, Carl discovers to his marvel that Frank is still a resident there and breaks into his room to arrest him. Emerging from the rest room and knowing only that Carl is from the FBI, Frank pretends to be Agent "Barry Allen" of the us secret service, and openly claims to have just stuck the suspect earlier than Carl showed up. It isn't always until after Frank has escaped from the room that Carl realizes he has been fooled.

Frank soon attempts to use the cash that he has stolen to discover a way to reunite his divorced parents. He invites his father to a elaborate restaurant, and offers him the keys to a brand-new Cadillac. Frank Sr. Explains that he can't accept the present, for the reason that IRS are nonetheless watching him, and makes an attempt to positioned a fantastic air to the meal.

Some months later on Christmas Eve, even as Carl is working in the office late and by myself, Frank calls him to apologize for tricking him lower back on the hotel. Carl proclaims that it does not work that way and, to Frank's horror, Carl realizes the cause for the decision: Frank has nobody else to speak to. Frank hangs up, and Carl continues his research. He later discovers that the call Barry Allen is a man or woman in "The Flash" comic books, and surmises that Frank is a teenage minor, which explains why they have been unsuccessful in finding a report of him or matching him through fingerprints.

Remembering that Frank had made a connection with the the big apple Yankees at some point of their telephone call, Carl has his men test for runaways in big apple. Their seek finally leads them to Frank's mother, who has now remarried. After seeing Frank's yearbook photo, Carl now is aware of who his suspect is.

12 months later. Frank has gone from impersonating a pilot to impersonating a physician (whole with a solid Harvard clinical faculty degree) in Georgia, because of an interest in a younger medical institution nurse named Brenda sturdy (Amy Adams). After locating out that her mother and father disowned her after she had an abortion, Frank attempts to help her reconcile with her own family. The two travel to meet her parents in Louisiana, where Frank no longer handiest claims to be a Lutheran like them, but additionally that he's a certified attorney in addition to a physician. Frank quickly joins Brenda's father (Martin Sheen) as an assistant prosecutor after passing the Bar exam.

Frank quickly comes to a decision to marry Brenda, and goes to inform his father. It's far here that Frank Sr. (now operating for the usa post office) informs his son that Frank's mom has remarried, devastating Frank. After Frank leaves his father for appropriate, he calls Carl, looking the chase to stop inside the wake of his trying to settle down. Carl informs Frank that this isn't always feasible, for the reason that Frank has stolen a few $four million. Once Frank hangs up, Carl's men glance through wedding ceremony announcements to song Frank down.

Carl manages to song Frank down at the night time of the engagement celebration, leading Frank to admit to Brenda who he is, earlier than escaping out a window, and asking her to fulfill him on the neighborhood airport a few days later. But, while she arrives as planned, Frank is devastated to peer Brenda is being watched intently via some of disguised FBI retailers who're watching her.

Whilst Frank doesn't appear, Carl has his men stake out the airport, certain that Frank will strive to show him up by hook or by crook, and attempt to break out by plane.

Frank places a brand new plan into impact, in which he claims that he works for Pan Am, and is recruiting stewardesses to tour to Europe. The ladies he chooses paintings as "eye sweet", and Frank manages to walk right past Carl's men, distracting them with a decoy within the unloading quarter of the airport, before escaping to Europe.

A yr-and-a-half of later in 1967, Carl angrily tells his boss that Frank has been forging tests everywhere in the jap Hemisphere. Only this time, the tests are the actual issue. Claiming that Frank is out of control, he requests permission to track him down in Europe. Whilst his boss denies him permission, Carl takes one of Frank's bogus assessments to expert printers who recommend it could simplest have been revealed in a handful of eu nations. Remembering from an interview with Franks mother Paula that she turned into born in France, Carl travels to her birthplace of Montrichard and reveals Frank there (on Christmas Eve), internal a large printing manufacturing facility.

Carl tells Frank that the French police outside will kill him if he doesn't give up quietly. Frank assumes he's joking at the start, however Carl vows that he is not mendacity. Frank handcuffs himself and Carl takes him outside, in which, seeing no police, he compliments Carl on his capacity to idiot him. Almost without delay, however, the French police arrive and escort Frank to jail. The French police take Frank away, with Carl promising to have Frank extradited returned to america. After two years, Frank is released into Carl's custody (as turned into seen inside the opening of the film).

On Christmas Eve 1969, the plane extraditing Frank flies into the usa. As they put together to land, Carl informs Frank that his father (Frank Sr) died by accident the preceding year. Devastated, Frank escapes from the plane in an notable fashion, and tracks down wherein his mother lives. Here he finds his mom together with her 2nd husband, as well as a younger lady who Frank realizes is his 1/2-sister. Before he may even speak to his mom, a posse of police arrive in pursuit and Frank surrenders, looking to be taken away before his mom is aware of he's there.

Frank is tried, convicted, and given a 12-12 months jail sentence, which he's sent to serve out in a maximum safety Federal prison in Atlanta. At some stage in the subsequent 4 years, Frank gets ordinary visits from Carl. For the duration of this kind of visits, Frank without difficulty deduces the identification of a forger via glancing at a take a look at that Carl indicates him...Giving the FBI agent an idea.

In 1974, Carl arranges for Frank to be allowed to serve out the the rest of his sentence operating for the test fraud department of the FBI beneath Carl's custody. Although Frank is out of prison, he is chained to his table-process and misses the thrill of his vintage life or even tries to pose as an airline pilot yet again. Just as he tries to run again, Carl meets him at the airport. Carl permits him to go unfastened, predicting that Frank will return to work on Monday since there's no one chasing him.

Lower back in the office on Monday morning, Carl is nervous whilst Frank doesn't appear for work on time. However, Frank does display up, and the two start going over a lately-found test forgery, that suggests a few new symptoms of forgery they haven't encountered before. As they look over the take a look at, Carl asks Frank something that has been on his thoughts for years: how he cheated on the Louisiana Bar exam, to end up a lawyer.

Frank claims he failed to cheat, and that he studied for 2 weeks and passed the exam on his very own merits. Carl inquire to recognise if this is the fact, but Frank presses on with their observations of the case in front of them.

Ultimately, it's far found out thru scrolling textual content that "Frank has been fortuitously married for 26 years" had 3 sons, lives in the Midwest along with his own family, remains excellent buddies with Carl, stuck some of the sector's maximum elusive money forgers and gets thousands and thousands of bucks each year due to his work growing unforgeable exams.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) Trailer