Movie Reviews

Frequency

3 Aug 2000

Frequency opens with a raging electrical fire, which is presumably stopped by a team of heroic firefighters. I say "presumably" because the scene is edited in a frenetic style that makes it impossible to know what's going on. It ends with a dramatic explosion, but that could mean anything.

Whatever the case, it serves to introduce the bravest, most dashing of these firemen. Frank Sullivan (Dennis Quaid) is also a wonderful family man, happily married to the lovely Julia (Elizabeth Mitchell). Life is perfect. You hate this guy, don't you?

If so, you'll be pleased to know that he dies in 1969 in a tragic fire. Thirty years later, his son John (Jam Caviezel), now a troubled cop, digs up Frank's old ham radio, and due to freak weather, finds himself talking to his Dad in 1969. Of course, he warns him about the fatal fire, effectively saving his life, changing history, and leaving John with two sets of memories.

This opens a can of worms. Every time they call each other, they seem to change history. With all these extra memories, you would expect John to become very confused. But there are more urgent problems, as all this history-changing eventually results in a psychotic murderer on the loose.

It is not an original concept, but Toby Emmerich's story has enough clever ideas and inventive twists to impress even jaded science fiction fans. It's sheer fantasy, with some gaping plot holes, but as murder mysteries go, it is still more believable than The Bone Collector.

It works best, however, as an action thriller. After the convoluted first scene, director Gregory Hoblit decides that storytelling is more fun than jazzy editing, resulting in a movie so sharp, so entertaining, that you are willing to forgive the confusing climax, with its own delirious editing.

Like the Back to the Future movies, the heroes of Frequency do more than simply live happily ever after. With this plot device, they live happily ever BEFORE, changing the past so that they were happier, healthier and more well-adjusted in the first place. Life is perfect for Frank, John and all their friends. You hate these guys, don't you?