One moment in time (Frequency (DVD))

Member Name: NikkiH

Product:	Frequency (DVD)
Date:	19/06/02 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story, well acted

Disadvantages: too out of the ordinary for some

I saw this film when it was shown on Sky, and I really did not know what to expect. I had not planned to watch it, but it just happened to be on at the right time. When I saw that it was directed by Gregory Hoblit, who directed the brilliant Primal Fear, I knew I was going to see something good. I will warn you in advance that you may find some of what I am going to say unbelievable, but in the context of the film, it works very well.

The film stars Jim Cavaziel as homicide detective John Sullivan who feels that his life has hit a lull after being dumped by his long term girlfriend, and he feels that a lot of it is down to unresolved grief over his fathers death 30 years previous, leaving his wife Julia to bring up their son alone. Dennis Quaid plays his father Frank, a fireman who tragically died trying to save people from a fire, and the story keeps going back and forward between the two, until you realise who they are.

One day whilst tidying the home he lived in as a child, he comes across his father's old radio. Due to a freak of nature, relating to the Northern Lights, the moment that John turns on the radio, so does his father 30 years before, and their paths amazingly cross. At first they cannot believe who they are talking to, until Frank describes many things to John, or leaves carvings in a table which John can see.

The scene in which John realises that he can save his father is heart wrenching.

After talking for a while, John realises that if he gets enough information then he can save his father from dying in the fire, and meet him in the present day, which he does, but as with most films, things aren't that easy! John soon realises that he has changed history, and will have to carry on changing it to get the outcome he wants. A whole new part of the film opens up, and now the action really gets going, and when we thought that was enough, there is the sub plot of a serial killer from 30 years previous who needs
to be caught in the present day.

The two worlds merge very well, and the plot is handled very well. The cast are strong enough to carry off the idea of the film. I think the film was sadly ignored by many of the critics, which is a shame as not enough people will see this brilliant film, which is a sci-fi thriller cum drama, which has many twists, and I was on the edge of my seat many many times. It is a new approach to time travel, and it works very well.

I have simplified the plot somewhat, and there is a lot more to the film than I have written here, but I want to leave some of the suspense for you. It makes you think what you do if you could change a moment in your life.

The ending is predictable, but just what the film deserved. I loved this so much that I went out the next day to buy it, and I have watched it many times since without getting bored.

Summary: