Writing Essay Preparation​ – Abhishek

Question: Describe at least one important setting in the written text(s). Explain how the setting helped you understand at least one important idea.

The film “Catch Me If You Can” directed by Steven Spielberg uses certain settings in the film to convey the idea of emptiness and the idea that what we believed to be true was never there in the first place. Through the use of these settings, it shows the viewers a new perspective of the reality of life and that we can’t bring back the past and that even if we stop, the world will still continue on forgetting about us. A setting showing this it the setting of when Frank Jr was standing outside his mother’s house looking inside or the setting of the empty office showing Carl Handrayy alone in the middle of it. The use of Juxtaposition, lighting strengths this idea, as well as camera shots expressing the lonely, empty atmosphere.

A powerful setting showing this idea of emptiness and the world forgetting about us in “Catch Me If You Can” is Frank Jr’s mother’s new house with her new husband and child show through Franks’s perspective while he stands outside the house on Christmas Eve watching them. This setting conveys two stories, Franks’s story as well as his Mother’s story. Franks’s life has changed so much from the crimes he has committed that when he comes to his Mothers house he excepts nothing to have changed and his life to come back to normal but once he sees his mother’s new life he realizes that she has moved on, and forgetting about her old life with Frank. Through the technique of juxtaposition in this scene where frank is standing outside in the cold, dark atmosphere while his mother is inside with her family in the warm, soft atmosphere. The use of lighting in this setting helps strengthen this idea, inside the house Frank is looking into there is warm, yellow lighting expressing the comfortable and intimate relationship between Franks’s mother and her new family giving a wholesome family feels. While outside where Frank is placed the lighting is dark and cold expressing a lonely depressing atmosphere. The Christmas timing also helps express the idea of total connection lost. The Christmas atmosphere is used a lot across the film. The Christmas atmosphere is normally associated with the family the Christmas tree shining in the back of the house shows this family atmosphere. which is what Franks’s mother now has, while frank has lost it. His perception of the perfect family does not exist and actually never existed for him. “Get me in the car please” This quote shows that Frank can’t handle that what he had been working for his whole life is none existent. He wants to leave and forget about this. The Director’s purpose is to show that what we believe is happing is actually not and that the past will never come back the world keeps spinning while we stand still.

A setting in the film reinforces the idea of being totally alone and working for nothing is shown in the scene where Carl Hanratty is sitting alone in the empty FBI office on Christmas eve on a phone call with Frank JR. Christmas is a big theme in this film the wholesale family atmosphere that Christmas shows is often used in this film however in this setting alone Christmas tree is next to Carl illuminating its light onto his face this placement of the tree while he talks to Frank shows the family atmosphere between Frank and Carl, that they have a connection like a family relationship. But not only this idea is shown in this setting but also the idea of emptiness and loneliness. Two main techniques are used to show this in this scene the first is the camera shot the start of this scene uses a long shot (wide shot) to show the empty office and then in the middle lone Carl doing work and talking to Frank. The other technique used is lighting like the Christmas scene this setting also uses dark, cold lighting to express a lonely and depressing feeling to the room. “You have no one else to call” this quote is especially powerful to show Frank and Carls’s situation in life and their absence of a family. Once Carl says this to Frank, Franks’s sudden reaction is to cut the call showing that Frank still can’t handle his emptiness and his loss of his family. However, Carl’s reaction is to start laughing almost psychopathically making it seems that Carl has been through Franks’s stage of denial after losing his family to divorce and he is laughing that someone else the person he is trying to imprison is now in that situation this also helps reinforce another theme in the movie that Frank is just a kid and wants a normal family. Speiburgs purpose in this setting/scene was to show that Frank and Carl are not that different and have a certain family connection, just like in the real world how people feel that their friends are just like their family.