Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Andre Braugher, Shawn
Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell, Noah Emmerich,
Think of it as "soft-core" science fiction.
Unlike their more traditional cousins, soft-core sci-fi films
are metaphysical studies in real life, tweaked by just a hint
of the supernatural. These films don't feature intergalactic battles
or far-flung future scenarios; they happen right here, right now,
to everyday people brushing up against extraordinary experiences.
It's for people who think something is indeed out there, but prefer
to face that fact on their home turf.
Soft-core sci-fi films have appeared in increasing
numbers ever since Spielberg realized their box office potential
with E.T. and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Since then,
Hollywood has produced a steady stream of similarly minded flicks
-- ALWAYS, THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, FIELD OF DREAMS, CONTACT,
and THE SIXTH SENSE are just a few. They share a human-centered,
Earth-based focus, as well as a minimized amount of violence.
Generally, they seek to uplift the human spirit -- the Glass If
Half Full approach to the universe.
Hollywood's latest soft-core sci-fi effort is FREQUENCY,
a surprisingly good exploration of family and alternate realities.
A twist-filled screenplay is played satisfying by the film's two
leads, rising star Jim Caviezel (THE THIN RED LINE) and Dennis
Quaid (D.O.A.), a second-tier leading actor who gives perhaps
the most engaging performance of his career.
One day before the thirty-year anniversary of his father's
death, in the midst of the spectral event known as the Northern
Lights (or aurora borealis), John Sullivan (Caviezel) decides
to pull out his father's old ham radio. He finds himself talking,
through the odd storm, to his own father, Frank Sullivan (Quaid)...except
that his father is in 1969, thirty years earlier. The extraordinary
coincidence opens an opportunity to the two men -- John is able
to tell Frank the mistake that cost him his life the first time
around, which ends up changing history. Frank doesn't die. However,
changing one event changes others as well, including a string
of unsolved serial homicides and a new victim -- John's mother.
Frank and John work together over three decades, connected only
by the radio-to set history right again.
FREQUENCY isn't a brilliant work; the screenplay
by Toby Emmerich is often merely adequate, and often short on
ideas. However, it manages to win over its audiences by taking
a page out of the Kevin Costner scrapbook, filling its scenes
with patriotic themes of family and honor, while pulling out a
few plot surprises. The film boasts a sugar-coated Americana that
presses all the right nostalgia buttons -- the Amazing '69 Mets
figure prominently in the storyline. In the third act, the film
seems headed for a predictable ending; credit FREQUENCY
for not taking the easy way out, and coming up with a surprising
and satisfying way to please the audience.
As Frank, Quaid is clearly trading on the stereotypical
attributes of a superdad -- teaching his son to ride a bike, lovingly
romancing his wife, even saving young girls from fires. Quaid,
however, has enough charm to make the role something more than
a string of cliches. Is there anyone who seems most genuine, more
wholesome, more honest than Quaid? It's a testament to his ability
that Frank comes across as something more than what was written
in the screenplay. He's not perfect, but he's also no slouch.
Jim Caviezel also fills the shoes of the bitter son,
John, with enough depth to save the character from its tired and
well-worn trappings. Caviezel gives off a slight melancholy in
every scene...perhaps a by-product of his sleepy eyes and tight-lipped
smile. Still, while he is very good in moments of sadness (longing
for his dead father, or breaking up with his long term girlfriend),
he seems somewhat false in scenes of pure joy. When he finds his
father, alive and talking, is on the other end of the radio, he
expressions barely change. (If there weren't glycerin tears streaming
down his face, you might not notice anything at all.)
Director Gregory Hoblit has assembled a formidable
talent pool in FREQUENCY, including the Emmy-winning Andre
Braugher as Satch, a cop who serves as a bridge between the two
time periods. Elizabeth Mitchell, as Frank's wife (and, older,
as John's mother), is a study in reserve and dignity, conveying
emotions often with just a turn of the head or the beginnings
of a smile. Noah Emmerich, who became the prototypical 'best pal'
in THE TRUMAN SHOW, pulls off the same kind of role with energy
and enthusiasm. Shawn Doyle also makes a suitably corrupt serial
killer...in both time periods.
Fans of time travel may wince at the film's lowbrow
approach, but FREQUENCY isn't meant for them. The film
is deceptively savvy, built for those who prize family bonds and
who miss their own deceased parents. Like FIELD OF DREAMS, it
sublimates its metaphysics and sci-fi premise to trade upon something
much simpler, a dead father and a longing son; like that film,
it's bound to find tremendous success.
