Oh, the film is absolutely a product of its time and needs to be appreciated as such. That's an explanation, however, not an excuse. The best stories and films transcend the times they were made in. Also, Spielberg has never been particularly comfortable with sex (gay, straight, or otherwise) in any of his films. I think Catch Me if You Can may be the only film in his entire career with a fun, positive depiction of it. It's a directorial mismatch for a story that is partly about a woman learning to enjoy sex after years of sexual subjugation by men. He's acknowledged in multiple interviews that he fumbled that part of the film.How many films were openly made about lesbian couples in 1985? How obvious was it in These Three?