| AN
EXCELLENT FILM TO ADJUST YOUR DIALS TO...
Written by Thomas
Chau
Edited by Andrew Marcus
Cast:
Dennis Quaid (Frank Sullivan), Jim Caviezel (John Sullivan),
Elizabeth Mitchell (Julia Sullivan), Noah Emmerich (Gordon
Hersch), Andrew Braugher (Satch), Shawn Doyle (Jack
Sheppard)
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Premise:
A young man discovers that his ham radio set can
reach 30 years into the past - to communicate with
his father, a firefighter who died in an accident.
The man desperately tries to find a way to change
history and save his father's life. But as they
alter the course of the past, what they do can change
the future. |
Overall
Rating:
Rated PG-13
for mild violence, language
Movie
fans everywhere need to tune their attention to Frequency,
one of the better sci-fi thrillers to have been released
recently. Unlike special effects-bloated films such
as Supernova, Frequency has the warm blend
of a father/son relationship with a suspenseful script
which is unpredictable in itself.
Frequency
tells the story of John Sullivan, a washed-up alcoholic
NYPD cop who is having girlfriend troubles and lamenting
over the soon-to-be anniversary of his father's death
in a warehouse fire. Taking place on October 1999, John
plays around with his father's old radio and hears a
strange voice at the other end. Noticing the strange
phenomenon occuring in the skies, he realizes that he
is talking to his father...exactly 30 years into the
past. John does not have much time, however. His father
is supposed to die the very next day and with no time
to lose, John tries to warn his father of his inevitable
death.
When
Frank escapes the warehouse fire the next day, John
brings his father up to date as to what will happen
in the future. But he soon discovers that because he
has changed the past, a chain of consequences have greatly
(and in a negative way) altered the future. To make
matters worst, John finds that he loses a loved one
as a result.
It's
a race against time as John and Frank (as father and
son) try to rectify the past in order to change Frank's
future and John's present. The suspense in this film
is not cut short by the father-son drama. Every clue
that is unraveled will have you guessing until the next
scene, while at the same time, wondering how the future
will be affected. As a thriller, Frequency holds
its ground but as a sci-fi film, well, let's just say
you might receive some static.
Frequency,
in my mind, isn't much of a sci-fi film at all. The
issue of time travel and the discussion of string theory
is all very flawed. In an nutshell, events which happen
in the past are not parallel to the present's time passage.
(ie. if you told your father in the past that he was
going to die the next day, you would not have to wait
until the next day to see if anything had been changed.)
The science of the film is questionable, but it hardly
hinders the value of the film.
Instead,
its praise should simply be attributed to it's combination
of drama, action, and storytelling. Dennis Quaid and
Jim Caviezel both deliver great performances, with an
excellent supporting cast including the unknown Elizabeth
Mitchell as the charming and loving mother. The actors
bring a strong sense of family, trust, and honor to
the film and maintains its ambience until the surprise
ending.
Simply
said, I enjoyed Frequency and recommend it highly
for the sci-fi and non sci-fi fan alike (and that's
one thought to be broadcasted widely.)
Images
are taken from the official
website, owned by
New Line Cinema
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