Sometimes it is easier living a lie ! This is a line from the movie "Catch me if you can" directed by Steven Spielberg. This movie is based on a true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars' worth of checks (cheques) as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent Carl Hanratty hunts him down after a long and interesting chase. But later it is Carl who convinces the FBI to offer a deal to Frank to spend the remainder of his sentence working for them.In the end Frank ends up working for the Bank Fraud Department of FBI and serves the remainder of his sentence of twelve years there. Later in life Frank goes on to earn millions of dollars each year because of his work creating unforgeable cheques.
Well this movie has come on TV several times but I never got interested in watching the entire movie at one time until last week. Earlier on I have watched it in bits and pieces but today this movie kept me engrossed from the beginning till the end and I realized that the message in this movie is far deeper than I imagined.
It made me think about a lot of things and I couldn't help but think that for various reasons and maybe limitations in their life, most people tend to live a life of lie maybe not the way the character Frank ( played by Leonardo DiCaprio ) in this movie did but in so many different ways.
Some people live a "make believe life" as I would like to name it to escape reality as the truth for them can be more harsh than the lie. People sometimes think that the solution to their problems lies in not addressing it at all and to detach themselves from the truth they resort to pretending and gradually start living a life of lie.
When people live a life of lie be it in a relationship or profession, they actually start believing that there can be no life other than that and resign themselves unfairly to an unhappy life filled with only pain,loneliness and disillusionment. They cheat themselves from living a real and true life where they may actually find peace and happiness. I have seen people living an unhappy marriage or working somewhere that does not serve their appetite of dreams and ambitions but they continue living that life and falsely convincing themselves to feel that this is the only thing and the best thing for them for whatever reasons.
But I have also seen people who save such people above from their lives of lies and restore confidence in their lives by motivating and inspiring them to find themselves again and basing their lives on strengths.
The way I see it in this movie Frank tries to escape the pain of the separation of his parents and the breaking of his family life by pretending to be many things and people at one time but himself. He is very intelligent and can do anything he puts his heart and efforts into but he uses his skills and talents only to escape himself by living a life of lie. Frank challenges the FBI agent Carl Hanratty ( Tom Hanks ) to catch him if he can and yet keeps giving him clues perhaps because he wants someone to save him and give him the attention he wants. Frank tries to hide from life in a way and tries to cheat life by running away from it all the time and pretending to be many characters. He tries to take control of his life by pretending to be many characters but his actual real self till the time his father is lost to him forever. What is sad is that he tries to buy happiness for his family and himself through money and makes tremendous efforts to unite his parents but in vain.
Finally he loses to life because as usual life has it's own plans and nobody can alter that. That is when Frank gives up in a way because he gets disheartened to see that his mother now has no place for him in life as she has a brand new family. He turns himself in to the FBI on Christmas Eve. What is most touching is how the agent recognizes the child in Frank who just wants to be loved and accepted and it is he who shows this deep sensitivity to him by getting his prison sentence reduced and giving him a life that suits his talents and adds meaning and order to his life. The character of the FBI agent is also most brilliantly played by Tom Hanks.
Frank always calls the agent on Christmas Eve and that is because he is lonely and the agent realizes that. In the end the FBI agent actually saves Frank from running from himself all the time and helps him reach his true potentials and gets him back to life by motivating him to live a life based on truth. It is really interesting to see how the relationship between Frank and the agent grows through the story and how the agent succeeds in stopping Frank from running away from reality and face his life and create a wonderful ending for him through all that he is capable of giving back to life.
I loved the movie as it is light and humorous at times but with a serious and deep note and a dash of inspiration to make anyone who has lost his way in life to get back on path. In a way the FBI agent turns out to be a kind of " wing friend" or his Guardian Angel in other words to restore his life after his father's demise and his mother's desertion.
Life sure is tough most of the times and the only way to make it somewhat simple is to be true to yourself and stay true to yourself even if you end up alone.
Well this movie has come on TV several times but I never got interested in watching the entire movie at one time until last week. Earlier on I have watched it in bits and pieces but today this movie kept me engrossed from the beginning till the end and I realized that the message in this movie is far deeper than I imagined.
It made me think about a lot of things and I couldn't help but think that for various reasons and maybe limitations in their life, most people tend to live a life of lie maybe not the way the character Frank ( played by Leonardo DiCaprio ) in this movie did but in so many different ways.
Some people live a "make believe life" as I would like to name it to escape reality as the truth for them can be more harsh than the lie. People sometimes think that the solution to their problems lies in not addressing it at all and to detach themselves from the truth they resort to pretending and gradually start living a life of lie.
When people live a life of lie be it in a relationship or profession, they actually start believing that there can be no life other than that and resign themselves unfairly to an unhappy life filled with only pain,loneliness and disillusionment. They cheat themselves from living a real and true life where they may actually find peace and happiness. I have seen people living an unhappy marriage or working somewhere that does not serve their appetite of dreams and ambitions but they continue living that life and falsely convincing themselves to feel that this is the only thing and the best thing for them for whatever reasons.
But I have also seen people who save such people above from their lives of lies and restore confidence in their lives by motivating and inspiring them to find themselves again and basing their lives on strengths.
The way I see it in this movie Frank tries to escape the pain of the separation of his parents and the breaking of his family life by pretending to be many things and people at one time but himself. He is very intelligent and can do anything he puts his heart and efforts into but he uses his skills and talents only to escape himself by living a life of lie. Frank challenges the FBI agent Carl Hanratty ( Tom Hanks ) to catch him if he can and yet keeps giving him clues perhaps because he wants someone to save him and give him the attention he wants. Frank tries to hide from life in a way and tries to cheat life by running away from it all the time and pretending to be many characters. He tries to take control of his life by pretending to be many characters but his actual real self till the time his father is lost to him forever. What is sad is that he tries to buy happiness for his family and himself through money and makes tremendous efforts to unite his parents but in vain.
Finally he loses to life because as usual life has it's own plans and nobody can alter that. That is when Frank gives up in a way because he gets disheartened to see that his mother now has no place for him in life as she has a brand new family. He turns himself in to the FBI on Christmas Eve. What is most touching is how the agent recognizes the child in Frank who just wants to be loved and accepted and it is he who shows this deep sensitivity to him by getting his prison sentence reduced and giving him a life that suits his talents and adds meaning and order to his life. The character of the FBI agent is also most brilliantly played by Tom Hanks.
Frank always calls the agent on Christmas Eve and that is because he is lonely and the agent realizes that. In the end the FBI agent actually saves Frank from running from himself all the time and helps him reach his true potentials and gets him back to life by motivating him to live a life based on truth. It is really interesting to see how the relationship between Frank and the agent grows through the story and how the agent succeeds in stopping Frank from running away from reality and face his life and create a wonderful ending for him through all that he is capable of giving back to life.
I loved the movie as it is light and humorous at times but with a serious and deep note and a dash of inspiration to make anyone who has lost his way in life to get back on path. In a way the FBI agent turns out to be a kind of " wing friend" or his Guardian Angel in other words to restore his life after his father's demise and his mother's desertion.
Life sure is tough most of the times and the only way to make it somewhat simple is to be true to yourself and stay true to yourself even if you end up alone.
