Frequency film review

certificate_15

FREQUENCY

If you were given the opportunity to travel back in time, and change just one event from your past, what would it be?

New York cop John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel) knows exactly which moment he would choose: October 12, 1969, the day his fire-fighter father Frank (Dennis Quaid) died in a blaze at a seed factory along with the homeless girl he was trying to save.

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of his father's death, John is magically granted his wish. Drowning in memories, he begins toying with his father's old ham radio and through the static, he finds himself talking to a man claiming to be his father, back in 1969.

At first, both men believe they are the victim of a sick prank, but once they overcome their fear, John and Frank engage in an all-night conversation which culminates in son telling father that he will die in a fire the very next day, because he chose the wrong escape route.

Thanks to John's intervention, Frank survives the blaze. Unfortunately, by meddling with the past, the two men also cause other temporal ripples: the most worrying being that a serial killer, responsible for the murders of young nurses during the '60s and '70s, now slaughters John's mother Julia (Elizabeth Mitchell). Separated by 30 years, father and son race against time to prevent the death of the woman they love, but with each change made by Frank in the past, John suddenly finds himself presented with a new reality.

Parallel universes and time travelling have been the subjects of countless films, and like many of its predecessors, Frequency is fatally flawed in its logic. However, Toby Emmerich's script does have its moments. The twist of fate that allows the serial killer to survive is very neat, as are the subsequent temporal ripples which make Frank the prime suspect for the murders.

His action set pieces are also well paced, and the scenes in which John tells his father how much he loves him and has missed him are also beautifully written, portraying a vulnerability and emotional nakedness between two men which is rarely seen in films.