adapting catch me if you can

I saw bits and pieces of this movie back in 8th grade, so I don't remember much from it.
I think some trouble the filmmakers would run into when adapting this book into film would be the lack of characters. The only person that you get to know is Frank, and that is it. There are small people that he comes across the book, but none of great significance. I know from the movie that they did add in the detective that is played by Tom Hanks, so I guess that is one way to solve the problem. I don't have a problem with just following Frank and seeing how he fools all these people, but I can also understand that some people want more dynamic. Other than the character issue, I don't think that there is much to change with the book. The book is fast pace, and very interesting. I think that is something different, and it's also exciting that it is all a true story.
Three main points in the book that NEED to be in the film would have to be:
1) How Frank got into being a con artist. In the beginning of the film I think it should be just like the book. It's fairly short, so they can fit it in. I also think that it is very important to emphasise Frank's age. At the beginning of the book, he is only 16 when he impersonates a pilot. Sometimes through out the book, you lose track of his age, and just how amazing it is that he is doing all of this criminal business when he is 16-20 years old.
2) I don't know if this can count as one point, but... I think that all his "firsts" need to be in the film. The first time Frank is able to get on a plane in his pilot uniform undiscovered. The way he gets into the mess of being a doctor. Also the way he gets into being a lawyer. I am not sure if the movie shows all three, but I think it is important to show that he moved on to different things, he was not pretending to be a pilot the whole time. Frank is very smart and can get through any situation. I think showing all three of these parts will really show that point.
3)(Spoiler... I guess...) I think the movie needs to show how Frank was able to escape the law after being caught and being sent to jail. First he was caught in France and spent time in their prisons, then he went to Sweden for more jail time, then he was to be sent to the US to spend time in their prisons. When he has landed in the US he gets away. He is able to sneak out of the plane's bathroom through the toilet. That is crazy. When I read that part in the book, I was shocked that he was still able to get past people and not be caught. They had no idea that he was able to escape the plane. That was one of my favorite parts in the book, and I would not want to see it left out of the movie.
Two parts of the book that could be left out...
1) When he is first impersonating a pilot, he seems to stay a pilot for a while. I think that it would be okay if they fast forward through the parts where he spends weeks as a pilot cashing checks over the country. I think that you could show the first one, but I don't see much need to show every single event.
2) When Frank is caught in France and sent to their prisons, he has a horrible time in prison. It's a tiny room with no light and he is suppose to live there for a year. The book goes into great detail about what he lives through while he is there. I think that it is important to show what the prison was like in France, but I think the complete details of the event could be left. It is quite graphic and gross, so people can pick up the book and see exactly what happened to him while he was there.