Introduction: Two rats fell into the cream bucket, and at first both rats struggled desperately, one mouse quickly gave up and was drowned in the bucket, while the other struggled desperately and finally stirred the cream into butter.
"Cat and Mouse Game", also known as "Get Away with It", filmed by Director Spielberg, is based on real events, telling the story of the genius teenager Frank who stepped into the road of financial crime because of the family upheaval, and was arrested and rescued by Officer Carl step by step. As a theme of youth crime, the director has another way, using warmth and comedy to dissolve crime, using the narrative technique of interpolation flashbacks plus a relaxed rhythm to retain the audience's attention, using true and false reflection to show the care for human nature and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty, borrowing the cultural background of the United States in the 60s to make his own interpretation of culture.
The American background of the counterculture of the 60s
The film is set in the United States in the 60s, when social unrest in the United States, although watching World War II was deeply involved in the Vietnam War, Keynesianism swept the country, experienced a global economic depression to collapse, and the collapse of traditional values to re-establishment. Young people born in the baby boomer, adolescence and the 60s coincide, they have great doubts about traditional values and culture, because of the rebellion against mainstream culture, they are called the Beat generation. Although they have long hair, smoke marijuana, sexually liberate, and engage in abortions. But at the same time, popular culture developed rapidly, feminism prevailed, and the black civil rights movement, anti-war peace movement, and cultural and ideological movement achieved remarkable results.
Young people are in a position, just like Frank's relationship with the world, in a state of self-worth falling apart, even if no one tracks, how to find themselves? Frank's disguised identities are pilots, doctors, and lawyers, which also corresponds to the most proud profession in the United States at that time, but the director uses almost a joke to tell the story of this young man who can't fly a plane but mixes with pilot assistants, has not been on the operating table, but was admitted as a doctor because of his beautiful resume.
The social order is gone in the eyes of this young man, who repeatedly says in the film that he will win back his father's original things, and the means are actually deceived by uniforms and checks, and the illusory dream-chasing process can only fail in the end. "Two rats that fell into the cream bucket, one died without struggling, the other struggled hard to finally turn the cream into butter", not only Frank's father in the film, but also many middle-class Americans in reality also struggled like this, they had a new life and glory after returning from World War II, but when they failed again, it was meaningless to repeat the myth of "rats create butter" here, and it was not feasible to recall the past and deceive the creation of success, fortunately the director provided us with other ways.
The film mentions many times that Karl asks Frank how you passed the bar exam, and at the end of the film, Frank answers everyone, I only reviewed for two weeks to pass the exam, and it is with this ingenuity that Frank succeeds in check counterfeiting and establishes a new self-worth. His success also hints at the success of other young people of the 60s, who, with their questioning and rebellion against mainstream culture, their concern for humanity and their desire for peace and equality, have created extraordinary achievements in their own ideology and culture.
Second, the showdown between true and false
As a crime film based on true events, the director did not directly present frank's crime to the audience, but used nearly 30 minutes to tell Frank's life before committing crime. The splendor of the father and the acquaintance of the parents point out the happiness of the Frank family and his enjoyment of family life in just a few minutes, the close-up of the red wine sprinkled on the ground and the picture frame of Frank, and the lens language hints at the crisis of the family and frank who is excluded from the family. A group of handheld shooting runs switch to Frank who is bound by the police in reality, and uses the method of interpolation to divide Frank's growth experience into two parts before and after the crime.
After Frank wanders away, the film devotes a long journey to showing how he plays the role of various identities and how to use fake checks to withdraw cash, a process that is a lie. But in his correspondence with his father, we see his attempt to turn it all into a real life state of mind. The teachings of the real father "Two Mice" and the "Golden Necklace" have kept Frank in a lie, and the father's repeated experience of knowing his mother and the story of "Two Mice" suggest that his father has actually lived in the past, and Frank can only truly return to reality and go from false to true only by breaking with the past. Therefore, when he learned the news of his father's death, the first time was to return to his mother's residence, trying to find the reason for his persistence in the "past", but his mother's new life made him completely disappointed, and he finally willingly raised his hands and chose to break with the past and choose to reconstruct himself.
Frank's choice to reconstruct himself and enter the real society can not be without reason, Carl's appearance, Frank reviewed two weeks to pass the legal exam, successfully shaped the image of a talented teenager, through these two ways to reach a consensus with the audience, so as to control the audience, so that the audience in the subtly accept the director's setting for Frank's transformation. The showdown between truth and lies is won in a moment. Carl's identity as Frank's father in society is thus defined, and his inclusive understanding of Frank is precisely the attitude and expectation of society for young people, "it is easier to live in lies", but the way to the moon can only be a down-to-earth effort.
Third, the film techniques that are different from other youth crime films
Interludes, flashbacks, and rhythmic music, the positive and dark lines of Frank's crime and Carl's pursuit are intertwined, and the montage cut of the "last minute rescue" that escapes the police for the last time makes the film's rhythm tense and does not resent the film because of the 2 hours and 20 minutes.
True and false duels are told in many movies, there are many youth crime themes, Spielberg's film that was completed in 56 days has its own unique charm, using Xiao Lizi as the male lead, the "star effect" makes the box office have a basic guarantee, plus Xiao Lizi's innocent smiley face, even if he commits a crime, he really can't arouse the disgust of the audience, on the contrary, he is full of sympathy for this rebellious child. Although it is a crime theme, the film's narration of the family focuses on the life of a happy family and Frank's love for his family, even if the subsequent parents divorce, they are still full of love for their children: "I will never be disappointed in my son." Both divorced parents and police officers are full of love for this misguided child, and the audience seems to pay more attention to the child abandoned by his parents after watching the film, rather than the child who is a criminal, and the director successfully dissolves the crime with warmth.