Read this review and save your life
 Feb 20th, 2001
Advantages:
Good fun
Disadvantages:
Slow and over - sentimental at times
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
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Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
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  LostWitness
About me:
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
Member since:15.07.2000
Reviews:694
Members who trust:827
Review rated by 59 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
No, really. You see, if you hadn't decided to read this review, you would have instead looked at an opinion about Comet. Inspired by this, you would have eagerly visited the store, your head full of all the bargains that you had read about online. Tragically, as you crossed the car park, you would have been so unaware of your surroundings that a lorry would have pulled out and....ouch.
How can I be sure of this? I can't. But neither could you categorically say that I'm lying. You did read this review, not the one about Comet, and so you didn't go to that fateful car park. So, eading this review saved your life. This is the idea behind Frequency. Every decision we make, every action we decide to follow has a result, the effects of which run much deeper than we could ever begin to imagine.
"Frequency" stars Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel as a fireman father and son, separated by the premature death of the father in a fire. Thirty years later, the son finds the original two way radio set used by his father and tries his
hand at communicating over the airways. Unbeknown to him, he decides to use the set at a time when the Northern Lights are active. The strange interference brought about by the unexplained phenomenon somehow enables the son to communicate with a radio user in the past. Before long, the son realises to his amazement that he is talking to his own father. Despite the son's most persuasive attempts to convince him, his father refuses to believe that this could be his son, until the fateful day of the fire that should have killed him arrives. Heeding the advice of his son, the father takes a different turn - and survives. Realising that the voice that rescued him could only be his son, the two are joyfully re-united by their discovery - until they realise that they have set in place a horrific new chain of events that they must work together to put right. Frequency combines a number of elements into a generally very enjoyable film. The movie combines an element of the supernatural, with the excitement of a crime thriller, and also sows the seed of a thought-provoking concept. Many films have covered the idea of time travel, or changing history, but this film works some way to examining the implications of this more closely. Whilst the idea behind the film may seem highly implausible, the portrayal is not far-fetched and the viewer can't help but believe in the events portrayed on screen.
None of the characters were particularly memorable. Whilst I appreciate that for the film it was entirely necessary, I felt that both the lead characters grasped the concept of talking across time rather readily - despite Quaid's excitement upon realising that he is talking to his son, he seems to forget to introduce him to his wife - wouldn't she be the first person that you might tell? Many of the early scenes in the film tended to lose themselves into a mush of sentimentality - sure there would be a stream of real emotion, but I tend to feel that something a little more meaningful could have been said apart from "I Love You Dad". Caviezel puts in a very uninspiring performance, opting for a limited range of facial expressions to "complement the mood". In order to portray the same characters, thirty years on, the film employs some slightly dodgy artificial aging techniques (make-up to you or I),but the portrayal of characters present and past provided some interesting sequences within the film. Once this was all out of the way, the film quickly picked itself up into a gripping thriller. All the usual elements were thrown in - Quaid gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and has to convince his police friend of his new time spanning experience; Quaid has to escape police custody; Quaid's radio set gets damaged, preventing continued conversation. Nothing that would come as any real susprise, but all of which when added together provided an enjoyable tale, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the viewer engaged. There are some sequences involving special effects, which were competently delivered, but I also appreciated some of the subtleties, such as the newspaper headlines casually seen by the camera which gave some idea as to what was happening.
The whole package provided a good film - not a great film, and not a bad one. I can't help but think that the premise of the movie could have been capitalised a little further. Unfortunately, the quantity of sentimentalism early on in the film would have put off many viewers, but it's worth sticking out to the end. Recommended for a quiet night in, when there isn't much else on television.
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![Frequency [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78528636.jpg)
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06.02.2004 12:26
Oh, I'll have to have a look out for this. Sounds just like my kind of film, glad I never went to Comet anyway! lol Chris x
07.04.2001 19:38
This sounds great and you have written about very well, I think I will look out for this, you are an obvious film buff Phil!! Well done!
12.03.2001 00:19
Brilliant title, although really sneaky way to get people reading!! This film sounds interesting...I'd definitely rent it out. Thanks!