THE NUTSHELL: In 1969 New York City, as the "Miracle Mets" are poised for World Series greatness, hero firefighter Frank Sullivan (Dennis Quaid) likes to spend free time at night talking to the world on his ham radio. In 1999, his son Jack (Jim Caviezal) still lives in the house. His mom is now a widow of 30 years who lives alone elsewhere. Without his dad for guidance all those years, Jack is now a semi-drunk cop losing his girlfriend. In both '69 and '99 a spectacular display of the aurora borealis lights up the big Apple skyline. And when Jack turns on his dead dad's radio, Frank's voice comes over the ether and decades between them. Somehow they can talk across time. Unfortunately, Jack can also warn Frank about his imminent demise and save his life. The consequences of that action begin to affect Jack's present and they must now try to undo the damage it does.
The cause and effect relationship is the usual theme of any film that deals with time travel. FREQUENCY eschews the oft-used device of a time machine in favor of some sort of worm hole tied to solar flares, but the rest is pretty standard for the most part. The classic story from science fiction is of the hunting party that goes back to the age of the Thundering Lizards to kill T-Rex's. The hunters are told to stay on a special path, but one stupidly steps off for just a second to (not kidding) smell a flower. When he returns to the present, everything has changed including language. He finds a butterfly pancaked to the bottom of his boot.
The big difference between stories of that ilk and FREQUENCY is that any change is looked upon as extremely verboten because of those consequences in most stories and in the movie they are viewed as little fires that just need stomping out for all to return to peace. Because the link between present and past is exactly 30 years and moves ahead concurrently with time, Jack and Frank cannot undo anything by simply going back and starting over. They must use their wits to overcome all setbacks as they occur.
When a movie tries so earnestly as FREQUENCY does to be a crowd pleaser, pointing out its weaknesses is something akin to spanking a puppy who's misbehaving. Gregory Hoblit and Toby Emmerich, the director and writer respectively, try a juggling act between the three balls of logic-defying plot, cleaver plot twists and feeding audience expectations. By keeping the story moving pretty quickly and physically cutting it down to short shots, the audience isn't given much time to ponder the inexplicable. They also trust that the audience doesn't need to be spoon-fed some loopy reason why it's possible.
For instance, even though there's a set-up for it that suggests it was taken out, neither Jack or Frank seek out help from the Eminent Scientist In The Field to explain how the premise is possible. Probably because said scientist would then be compelled by the Official Handbook of Obvious Movie Dialogue to warn of the consequences, ala the dinosaur-hunting story above. Very little time is spent waiting for the characters to accept that what is happening is possible. Little or no mention is made of the fact that this is the fall after man had just walked on the moon, making just about anything seem possible. The filmmakers understand that it's highly unlikely that anyone watching the film could have arrived in their seats without at least some vague notion that communication across time will be part of the story.
As with any film made by bright storytellers, the biggest problem with FREQUENCY is the flip-flops it makes between respecting the audience's intelligence and insulting it. To example the former: a crucial bit of information that will later explain why 3 women become 10 (excuse the vagueness, but more info would spoil it for first time viewers) is so casually presented many will miss it if they look down to get their soda. But later, a rescue in a burning warehouse begs credulity as Quaid goes from Brave to Super Fireman. It's best not to think too long over the logic concerning the changing past and present.
For those who like a good Guilty Pleasure, FREQUENCY is the perfect film of that sort. It has a nice balance of original premise, exciting sequences and pull-on-the-heartstrings moments between a father and son who were robbed of growing up together. Similar, but not nearly as good as the superb FIELD OF DREAMS. Be warned, it will fall apart if you begin to dissect the time travel aspect after seeing it. A willing suspension of belief is a big requirement of watching FREQUENCY. RECOMMENDATION: you can skip the theatrical release, but well worth a look on a slow video rental night.
The cause and effect relationship is the usual theme of any film that deals with time travel. FREQUENCY eschews the oft-used device of a time machine in favor of some sort of worm hole tied to solar flares, but the rest is pretty standard for the most part. The classic story from science fiction is of the hunting party that goes back to the age of the Thundering Lizards to kill T-Rex's. The hunters are told to stay on a special path, but one stupidly steps off for just a second to (not kidding) smell a flower. When he returns to the present, everything has changed including language. He finds a butterfly pancaked to the bottom of his boot.
The big difference between stories of that ilk and FREQUENCY is that any change is looked upon as extremely verboten because of those consequences in most stories and in the movie they are viewed as little fires that just need stomping out for all to return to peace. Because the link between present and past is exactly 30 years and moves ahead concurrently with time, Jack and Frank cannot undo anything by simply going back and starting over. They must use their wits to overcome all setbacks as they occur.
When a movie tries so earnestly as FREQUENCY does to be a crowd pleaser, pointing out its weaknesses is something akin to spanking a puppy who's misbehaving. Gregory Hoblit and Toby Emmerich, the director and writer respectively, try a juggling act between the three balls of logic-defying plot, cleaver plot twists and feeding audience expectations. By keeping the story moving pretty quickly and physically cutting it down to short shots, the audience isn't given much time to ponder the inexplicable. They also trust that the audience doesn't need to be spoon-fed some loopy reason why it's possible.
For instance, even though there's a set-up for it that suggests it was taken out, neither Jack or Frank seek out help from the Eminent Scientist In The Field to explain how the premise is possible. Probably because said scientist would then be compelled by the Official Handbook of Obvious Movie Dialogue to warn of the consequences, ala the dinosaur-hunting story above. Very little time is spent waiting for the characters to accept that what is happening is possible. Little or no mention is made of the fact that this is the fall after man had just walked on the moon, making just about anything seem possible. The filmmakers understand that it's highly unlikely that anyone watching the film could have arrived in their seats without at least some vague notion that communication across time will be part of the story.
As with any film made by bright storytellers, the biggest problem with FREQUENCY is the flip-flops it makes between respecting the audience's intelligence and insulting it. To example the former: a crucial bit of information that will later explain why 3 women become 10 (excuse the vagueness, but more info would spoil it for first time viewers) is so casually presented many will miss it if they look down to get their soda. But later, a rescue in a burning warehouse begs credulity as Quaid goes from Brave to Super Fireman. It's best not to think too long over the logic concerning the changing past and present.
For those who like a good Guilty Pleasure, FREQUENCY is the perfect film of that sort. It has a nice balance of original premise, exciting sequences and pull-on-the-heartstrings moments between a father and son who were robbed of growing up together. Similar, but not nearly as good as the superb FIELD OF DREAMS. Be warned, it will fall apart if you begin to dissect the time travel aspect after seeing it. A willing suspension of belief is a big requirement of watching FREQUENCY. RECOMMENDATION: you can skip the theatrical release, but well worth a look on a slow video rental night.