A significant incident in the film Catch me if you can by Steven Speilberg is Frank Jrs parents divorce. This significant incident contributed to my understanding of Frank Jr. film techniques that were used to help show us this understanding about Frank. 3 techniques used were lighting, music and foreshadowing.
Frank’s parents divorce was a very shocking time for frank. As soon as he was told he was asked to write his name on a piece of paper to determine which parent he would live with. When he was told to do this, lighting was used to show Frank’s emotions better. The lighting was split, dark on one side of his face and light on the other. This was used to help us understand that he was overwhelmed and won’t be able to choose. It shows us that he was scared. He couldn’t make this decision. He didn’t want to hurt either one of them and this choice would be his whole life.
After Frank had been told to decide it was all too much for him. He couldn’t make this decision right then and there, as it would affect his whole life. So he ran away. The film cut from him sitting with his parents to him sprinting down the street. As he was running the music in the background was very fast paced. This music shows us how quickly he ran away. That his thoughts were going too fast he couldn’t even stop to think. This helped us to understand that Frank was still a child. It was way too much for him to process so he ran. It was all he could think to do. He thought it was the easiest way out, that it would all go away.
Frank ran all the way to the train station. When he got there he went to the ticket booth and asked for a ticket. He didn’t have enough money so he couldn’t get a ticket. He stood there looking so disappointed the camera moved into the booth. The POV from the booth showed Frank behind bars. This was foreshadowing. This was used to show us that in the future Frank would be behind bars like he was at that moment. This technique helped us to understand that Frank would have to do a bad thing to be behind bars.
In conclusion, the incident of Frank’s parents divorce in the film Catch me if you can helped us to understand Frank’s character through the use of film techniques. Lighting, music and foreshadowing were all good techniques that show meaning to help understand what is happening in Frank’s mind or what is about to happen.