Frank Abagnale Jr. committed his first crime at just sixteen years old and was only twenty-one when he was finally arrested by the FBI.
So, how exactly did he end up on the path of crime, step by step?
In his autobiography, Frank doesn't clearly spell it out; he simply narrates his story. However, Steven Spielberg keenly picked up on the underlying influence of Frank's family and found a connection between Frank and his father.
But is that really how it was?
It doesn't matter.
After all, a film director isn't a psychologist, and making a movie isn't about analyzing criminal psychology. What truly matters is that Steven found a starting point, and this starting point allowed him to explore his own inner world while giving the audience something they could resonate with, something that lets them feel the emotional core of the film.
When Frank Jr. was fifteen, his father, Frank Abagnale Sr., suffered a major business setback, leaving him with no way out.
Frank Sr. tried to get help from the bank and used some "cunning" tactics of a businessman, attempting to smooth things over with sweet talk and small favors.
Unfortunately, it all failed.
His business collapsed, his marriage broke down, and Frank Sr. lost everything like a dog with its tail between its legs.
Despite Frank Sr.'s failures, young Frank Jr. saw all of these tricks. He admired his father, looked up to him, and wholeheartedly believed in him. His father's positive image was like a seed planted deep in Frank Jr.'s heart, which took root and grew after his father's business failed and his parents' marriage fell apart.
All along, his father tried to save the marriage but was powerless to change the reality. So, later on, everything Frank Jr. did stemmed from this:
He longed to achieve his father's dreams, to reunite his parents, and to restore the warmth of their family. Even after his father shattered his illusions, Frank Jr. desperately sought to build a family of his own, willing to take extreme risks to grasp any lifeline.
Everything started with his father and returned to the idea of family.
In a way, Steven Spielberg projected his own experiences onto Frank Jr., but what the real Frank Jr. was actually like in reality, no one truly knows.
However, in real life, after being arrested, Frank Jr. served five years in prison before being granted parole for good behavior.
Due to his criminal record, Frank Jr. faced many challenges in his real life until the FBI agent who had caught him decided to give him another chance, allowing him to work as a consultant to help catch criminals. The turning point came when he met his wife, Kelly Abagnale.
Frank Jr. and Kelly married and, to this day, have never separated. They have three children together.
Frank Abagnale Jr. refused any interviews from the film crew, partly because he wanted to completely sever ties with his past and no longer wished for his life to be disturbed.
So, while Steven Spielberg's "re-creation" might not be entirely accurate, it's not entirely wrong either.
It's because of this that Steven, who is not typically known for directing emotional scenes, managed to create one of the most touching relationships of his entire directing career in this film—
Even surpassing "The Fabelmans."
And when Anson read the autobiography and then the script, a familiar feeling gradually took hold of his heart, slowly sending him into a freefall.
In his past life, at the age of twenty-five, his father's business collapsed like a tsunami, sweeping him into a storm that completely upended his life. His confusion, anger, disappointment, and fear—all of these mixed and clashed within him, making it hard to breathe.
But in reality, the signs had been there all along.
His father had always tried to maintain a perfect image in his eyes—proud, kind, towering, and authoritative—painting a blueprint for success. But as he grew up, Anson realized that perfection doesn't exist, and the more perfect something seems, the more likely it is to be a facade.
Years ago, his father had already struggled to maintain that image of perfection—the perfect life, the perfect persona, the perfect marriage. By the time Anson was a senior in high school, his parents divorced. It was like a lizard shedding its tail, his father fleeing from his life, leaving behind only a perfect profile and a retreating figure.
Unfortunately, at that time, Anson was too young—still a child, immersed in the exuberance and brashness of youth, where the world seemed to revolve entirely around him. He was too busy embracing life to notice the signs, too self-absorbed to care about anything beyond his own existence—
Until everything fell apart.
So, when his father's victims came knocking on his door, he couldn't argue, couldn't resist. All he could do was silently endure it. He couldn't even turn his back on them. With his head bowed and hands tied, he faced the insults, curses, and attacks head-on, swallowing all the bitterness and pain alone.
At that moment, Anson saw himself in Frank Abagnale Jr.
He had once thought that those memories were too distant, that those wounds had long since healed and scarred over. After all, it had been another lifetime—literally. Even in his previous life, those events were more than a decade old. He had no time to dwell on pain and reminiscence; he had to work, move forward, and keep fighting.
Even pausing to catch his breath felt like a luxury.
But he never expected those memories to be so vivid, so real, that they could cross time and space to clutch his heart once again, making him feel the pain all over again.
At least, in one aspect, Frank Jr. was luckier than Anson. He could still see his father, even in the chaos of a world falling apart. But Anson couldn't. He never saw his father again, to the point where his father's image in his mind became a blurry label.
Just an outline, with no face.
Anson couldn't even discern what he felt toward his father. Hatred? Resentment? Disgust? Nostalgia? Admiration?
Even the vibrant, commanding presence his father once had when he was full of ambition had become fuzzy.
And so, Anson found himself in a daze.
The memories from his previous life wrapped around his ankles, pulling him down into an endless ocean. The overwhelming emotions filled his mind, crashing in waves, yet impossible to sort out.
He looked up and saw nothing but water, vast and boundless, surrounding him. He floated on the calm surface, drifting aimlessly, with no direction.
Buzz.
A faint vibration in his eardrums, like the sound of the wind, caught Anson's attention in the darkness and pulled him back into reality.
He fumbled for his phone, brought it to his ear, and mumbled, "Hello?"
"Anson?"
"Hmm?"
"Anson? Are you okay?"
The voice, distant at first, began to clear away the darkness. The golden sunlight of Los Angeles gently warmed Anson's skin. Slowly, warmth returned to his veins, his vision sharpening again. Though his mind still buzzed, his body seemed to regain its sense of gravity.
He swallowed, feeling the dryness in his throat for the first time.
But the silence on his end made the person on the other side of the call anxious.
"Jesus Christ, Anson, are you okay? Hey, Anson Wood, answer me."
The deep voice, tinged with uncontrollable worry, stirred the calm sea, and a smile slowly crept onto Anson's face as he finally found his voice.
"Luca, I'm fine."