Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Genre:

Catch Me If You Can is an adventure/crime film, this is shown through how fast-paced the opening is, as well as a light touch, this connotes that its quite a light film even though it is full of action, this is all shown between a figure running after another one that keeps changing identity,

Narrative:

Throughout the opening clip of Catch Me If You Can there is a chase, this shows the audience that throughout the film there is going to be a chase. We also know this because the fig
ure that is being chased, changes identity a few times, at first he is a suit, however, when it appears he is in an airport, shown through the iconography of airplanes in the background . The figure changes into a pilots uniform after that it appears in a hospital posing as a doctor, this is shown through the iconography of a doctor, a stethoscope and a long white coat.

Character:

The two main characters in the opening sequence are distinguished in the first thirty seconds. this is done through the airport signs, there are arrows pointing to the main characters. This notifies the audience that they are the main characters as well as who the actors are. The first character shown is the antagonist, the character is Frank Abagnale Jr., he is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, however the other character is a protagonist, Carl Hanratty, he's played by Tom Hanks. The protagonist is seen to be chasing the antagonist. He seems to be an undercover agent as he is following Frank Abagnale Jr. from afar.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere of the opening, is quite a slow-paced chase between a 'good guy' and a 'bad guy'. This creates a sense of excitement as well as establishes a tense and dramatic atmosphere for the rest of the narrative.

Theme:

Catch Me If You Can establishes the themes of identity, chase and disguise. The identity of these two figures are still a mystery in the opening, we don't know anything about them apart from that one is chasing the other, this makes the audience want to watch the rest of the film as they want them to be established. Chase is another theme in Catch Me If You Can as throughout the opening sequence, one is following the other, this suggests what the film is going to be about. The opening distinguishes disguise though the constant changing of the clothing of the figure being chased, the figure disguises himself from the other figure chasing him, however, to spy on the first figure that its chasing, the second figure disguises himself by covering his face with a newspaper in the opening sequence.

Setting: 

The setting of the film is established in the opening sequence as America, I know this because there is a scene where there is a yellow cab being chased by police cars, the yellow cabs connotes that the film is set in New York; as it is where yellow cabs are associated from. The time period of which the film is set in is in the late 1950's, this is known because there is a post retro feel to the film, this is also shown through the film opening when the figure being chased ends up I'm a swimming pool where the surroundings, are all from the 1950 era as well as the combination of oranges and reds. 

Sound:

The sound of the opening sequence continues with the post-retro settings of the film, this is done through the 1950's jazz music playing in the background. This makes it more up-beat and it keeps the fast pace of the sequence through the fast tempo. 

Titles: 

The film titles are integrated into the sequence, this includes the ranges of jobs that are more influential as well as important cast and crew names, these are set for a specific amount of time and in a specific order. The title colours are in black with lines coming off them separating the screen, this connotes that the first figure is always a few steps ahead of the other one. The name of the title is also in a solid black colour however the word 'me' is written out of clouds, this along with the fact that it fades away connotes that the first figure is good at getting away unnoticed and he just 'fades' into the background.

Catch Me If You Can Opening: