Frequency Review
by "Mac VerStandig" (critic AT moviereviews DOT org)April 30th, 2000
Frequency
3 Stars (Out of 4)
Reviewed by Mac VerStandig
[email protected]
http://www.moviereviews.org
April, 2000
---A copy of this review can be found at http://www.moviereviews.org/frequency.htm ---
Frequency, the first film penned by Toby Emmerich (Noah’s brother), is so beautifully crafted and stunningly patriotic that it moves through its almost two hours without a moment of boredom. This, despite an oftentimes-painful lack of intellectual breadth and plot holes that only serve to detract from a film that could have easily been on par with classics like Field of Dreams.
The movie requires audiences to suspend belief and accept a rather far-fetched plot that is actually refreshingly innocent and magical, not unlike Cinderella’s midnight curfew: because of a special alignment in the evening sky, one that hasn’t been seen so brightly for 30 years, John Sullivan (a mediocre Jim Caviezel) is able to speak with his father, Frank (an excellent Dennis Quaid), – who has been dead for those 30 years.
As the duo chat away under the stars every evening, they begin to change the history of the three decades that separate them - this is interesting. Unfortunately, as the two try to change some untoward events (namely Frank’s untimely death and his wife’s murder), it seems that no one is effected other than the characters immediately pertaining to the story. Essentially, the movie tries to isolate chaos theory according to what is convenient to explain and disregard what would be too much of a hassle to further develop.
Interestingly, the film makes you ponder what it would be like to be in Frank’s shoes. Similar to one of the punishments a death row inmate faces, Frank now knows how and approximately when he will die and, additionally, is deprived of the privilege of seeing his son grow up and wondering what he will do with his life. Unfortunately, Frequency does little to address these questions and leaves them to the audience as more of an afterthought than significant query. It would be well worth the extra time, even if the film surpassed two and a half hours, for these questions to be dealt with on screen rather than have the two main characters so easily accept the nighttime magic and all of its side effects.
All the main characters in Frequency are either police officers, firemen or nurses. With the exception of the aforementioned serial killer, who brings contrast to the production, everyone is the ultimate red-blooded American. Baseball, the American pastime, is a favorite topic of conversation, a cold beer the preferred drink and New York City the place to be. Similarly, Frequency is the typical, feel-good American movie. Sure, there are a few plot holes and some things could be slightly better thought out, but family values have rarely seen a heavier emphasis then they get here and that is just about as American as one can get.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
