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THE SKINNY
A dead father and son reunite across time and join forces to catch a killer.

THE BOTTOM LINE
It’s what a night at the movies should be - fun!!

THE FULL REVIEW
Frequency, the new film by Primal Fear director Gregory Hoblit, offers a refreshing take on the classic thriller by incorporating the concept of time travel into the story. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable film, particularly if you go to the theater with no higher expectations than to simply be entertained.

Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line, Ride With the Devil) plays homicide detective John Sullivan, whose firefighter father Frank, played by Dennis Quaid (Any Given Sunday, The Big Easy, The Right Stuff) was killed in 1969 while in the line of duty. John was a young boy at the time of his father’s death and even after 30 years the void that this tragic event left in his life has not been filled. Things change, however, when in the midst of the amazing sky storm known as the aurora borealis, John discovers his father’s old ham radio and begins to test it out. Miraculously, through the electrical static and solar flares, John finds himself talking to his father in 1969. Armed with this incredible opportunity, John must not only find a way to convince his father that a warehouse fire is about to take his life, but he must also use evidence gathered in 1999 to discover the true identity of a 1969 serial killer before he strikes again.

Clearly, with an outrageous plot such as this, screenwriter Toby Emmerich was placing a great amount of faith in the audience’s imagination and ability to suspend their disbelief. And why shouldn’t he have? Frequency is just what Saturday nights at the movies were made for. For two hours, this film will take you far away from the stress of your daily life and allow you to have a whole lot of fun. Is the acting Oscar worthy? No. But Caviezel and Quaid are pretty convincing as father and son, and Andre Braugher (Primal Fear, Glory, “Homicide”) works well in what is a familiar police detective role for him. Also putting in solid and understated performance is Elizabeth Mitchell (Gia) as Julia Sullivan, Frank’s wife.

Are there any problems with Frequency? Of course there are. Most notably, the film has several sappy father/son moments and the ending of the film went just a bit too far for me. These were a small sacrifice, however, for what turned out to be a surprisingly suspenseful and engaging movie.

By: Craig Ettinger