Frequency (film)
Encyclopedia
Frequency is a 2000 science-fiction film that contains elements of the time travel, thriller and alternate history film genres. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit
and written by Toby Emmerich
. The film stars Dennis Quaid
and James Caviezel
as father and son, Frank and John Sullivan respectively. It was filmed in Toronto
and New York City
. The film gained mostly favorable reviews following its release via DVD format on October 31, 2000.
during October 1999, John Sullivan (Caviezel
), a 36-year-old homicide detective, is still traumatized over the death of his fireman father Frank (Quaid
). Living in the same house where he grew up, he discovers his father's ham radio following a breakup with his girlfriend Samantha (Melissa Errico
) and begins transmitting. Because of unusual aurora borealis activity, John discovers he has managed to make contact with his father exactly 30 years in the past the day before his death in a warehouse fire. Though Frank doesn't believe it is John, John is able to shout out a warning about the fire that took Frank's life. The next day as he tries to escape a burning building Frank remembers John's words and escapes safely.
Having saved his father from the fire, John now creates a new timeline while retaining his memory of the old. The following day, John discovers that in this new timeline Frank had died of lung cancer from chain-smoking and John's mother Julia Sullivan (Elizabeth Mitchell
) was murdered by a serial killer. John is able to piece together that his mother's killer was called the "Nightinggale Killer", a man who originally murdered three nurses before he vanished, but with the past changed he has now murdered ten with Julia as the sixth. Using information from 1999 Police files on the impending six killings, John and Frank work together across the gap of time to stop the murderer in 1969 and save Julia. Frank successfully averts the murder of the first expected victim, but when he tries to prevent the next, he is attacked by the killer in a nightclub bathroom and his driver's license is taken from his wallet. When he regains consciousness, Frank rushes to the woman's apartment only to find he is too late.
John realizes the killer's fingerprints are now on Frank's wallet and Frank is able to hide the wallet under a floorboard in the house, allowing John to retrieve it in 1999 and take it in to his crime lab. John learns that the fingerprints belong to a now-retired detective named Jack Shepard (Shawn Doyle
). Meanwhile in 1969, Frank is arrested by Satch DeLeon (Andre Braugher
), John's future boss, when police find Frank's driver's license with Shepard's latest victim. As Frank struggles to continue speaking to John as Satch struggles with him, the ham radio is knocked off of Frank's desk and broken, cutting off the two. At the station, Frank is able to escape and searches Shepard's apartment for evidence. Meanwhile Satch, having been told by Frank about his communications with his son, watches the 1969 World Series
and realizes Frank has told the truth when events he described to him come true. Shepard is presumed dead after a struggle with Frank and Frank is cleared of charges.
Frank returns home and repairs the radio, happily telling John Shepard is dead and Julia is saved. However, John's memories still include Julia's death. Suddenly, in both 1969 and 1999, Shepard breaks into the home. While father and son both fight Shepard, the past Shepard is distracted by Julia and Frank shoots off his hand with a shotgun, causing him to flee. In 1999, Shepard is choking John when his hand shrivels and vanishes. The house ripples and the furnishings change as the timeline is adjusted, and Shepard is shot and killed by an aged Frank, the new alterations to the timeline saving both him and Julia. The film concludes with a neighborhood baseball game in 1999. Frank and Julia are there, along with John, who is now married with an ex-girlfriend who left him in the original timeline, and is pregnant with his son, Frank. As John wins the game with a home-run that allows both himself and Frank to score, a montage is shown of John's life with his parents in the new timeline.
for production on January 21, 1999, although the script had been around much longer. Sylvester Stallone
was rumored to be taking the role of Frank Sullivan in 1997, but fell out of the deal after a dispute over his wage. Director Renny Harlin
was also rumored to be director on the film. Gregory Hoblit
first read the script in November 1997, eighteen months after his own father's death. In a 2000 interview shortly after the American release of Frequency, he described the film as "high risk" since the project had already been passed among several directors, including one of note who had twice the budget Hoblit was given. In the same interview, he described the difficulty he had finding the two leads. Hoblit realized he needed an "experienced actor" to portray Frank Sullivan, and thus settled on Dennis Quaid
.
, the film has a 70% Approval Rating (Fresh) with the consensus as "a tight blend of surprises and suspense [that] keeps audiences spellbound". Roger Ebert
called the film's plot "contrived", yet gave the film a favorable review. He also pointed out similarities with the films The Sixth Sense
and Ghost
. David Armstrong, of the San Francisco Chronicle
, praised the moments in the film when John and Frank Sullivan talked to each other over the radio but criticized the "unintentionally funny climax". He also praised actor Shawn Doyle's performance as the Nightingale killer, calling him "convincingly creepy". Todd McCarthy of Variety
magazine said despite Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel's physical separation in the film, they formed a "palpable bond that [gave] the picture its tensile strength". McCarthy noted the screenwriter, Toby Emmerich's, "bold leap into reconfiguring the past" created "agreeable surprises" and an "infinite number of possibilities" to the plot's direction. He added, however, that the serial killer subplot
was "desperately familiar".
James Berardinelli
gave the film two stars out of four, criticizing the "coincidence-laden climax" but wrote that "poor writing [did] not demand subpar acting", praising Frequency' s "few nice performances".
Frequency made US$68,106,245 worldwide and was released in 2,631 theaters in the United States. Frequency was nominated for the Hugo Award
for Best Dramatic Presentation
, but ultimately lost out to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
. The film's ending song, "When You Come Back to Me Again
", was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
. Written by Jenny Yates and Garth Brooks
(performed only by Brooks), the song failed to win, losing out to "Things Have Changed
" from Wonder Boys
.
, a physicist
, plays himself in the film. In the fictional world of the film, he plays a younger adult version of himself in the past (in 1969 timeframe), and he is again featured as an older man, in the present (1999 timeframe). However in reality, Dr. Greene was about 6 years old in 1969.
Gregory Hoblit
Gregory King Hoblit is an American Hollywood film director and TV producer.Hoblit was born in Abilene, Texas, the son of Elizabeth Hubbard King and Harold Foster Hoblit, an FBI agent. Much of Hoblit's work is oriented towards police, attorneys, and legal cases...
and written by Toby Emmerich
Toby Emmerich
Toby Emmerich is an American producer, film executive, and screenwriter. He was born in New York City, the son of Constance , a concert pianist, and André Emmerich , a Frankfurt-born gallery owner and art dealer...
. The film stars Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
and James Caviezel
James Caviezel
James Patrick Caviezel, Jr. is an American film actor, usually credited as Jim Caviezel. He is known for the roles of Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, Bobby Jones in Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Detective John Sullivan in Frequency, Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte...
as father and son, Frank and John Sullivan respectively. It was filmed in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The film gained mostly favorable reviews following its release via DVD format on October 31, 2000.
Plot
In New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
during October 1999, John Sullivan (Caviezel
James Caviezel
James Patrick Caviezel, Jr. is an American film actor, usually credited as Jim Caviezel. He is known for the roles of Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, Bobby Jones in Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Detective John Sullivan in Frequency, Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte...
), a 36-year-old homicide detective, is still traumatized over the death of his fireman father Frank (Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
). Living in the same house where he grew up, he discovers his father's ham radio following a breakup with his girlfriend Samantha (Melissa Errico
Melissa Errico
-Biography:Born in Manhattan, Errico moved to Manhasset on Long Island at an early age. Her parents, a sculptor and a physician/concert pianist, supported her early interest in ballet, and gymnastics, and Melissa competed nationally as a gymnast...
) and begins transmitting. Because of unusual aurora borealis activity, John discovers he has managed to make contact with his father exactly 30 years in the past the day before his death in a warehouse fire. Though Frank doesn't believe it is John, John is able to shout out a warning about the fire that took Frank's life. The next day as he tries to escape a burning building Frank remembers John's words and escapes safely.
Having saved his father from the fire, John now creates a new timeline while retaining his memory of the old. The following day, John discovers that in this new timeline Frank had died of lung cancer from chain-smoking and John's mother Julia Sullivan (Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
) was murdered by a serial killer. John is able to piece together that his mother's killer was called the "Nightinggale Killer", a man who originally murdered three nurses before he vanished, but with the past changed he has now murdered ten with Julia as the sixth. Using information from 1999 Police files on the impending six killings, John and Frank work together across the gap of time to stop the murderer in 1969 and save Julia. Frank successfully averts the murder of the first expected victim, but when he tries to prevent the next, he is attacked by the killer in a nightclub bathroom and his driver's license is taken from his wallet. When he regains consciousness, Frank rushes to the woman's apartment only to find he is too late.
John realizes the killer's fingerprints are now on Frank's wallet and Frank is able to hide the wallet under a floorboard in the house, allowing John to retrieve it in 1999 and take it in to his crime lab. John learns that the fingerprints belong to a now-retired detective named Jack Shepard (Shawn Doyle
Shawn Doyle
Shawn Doyle is a Canadian actor.Doyle was born and raised in Wabush, Newfoundland, the son of actor Jerry Doyle. He moved to Toronto to study theatre at York University....
). Meanwhile in 1969, Frank is arrested by Satch DeLeon (Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
), John's future boss, when police find Frank's driver's license with Shepard's latest victim. As Frank struggles to continue speaking to John as Satch struggles with him, the ham radio is knocked off of Frank's desk and broken, cutting off the two. At the station, Frank is able to escape and searches Shepard's apartment for evidence. Meanwhile Satch, having been told by Frank about his communications with his son, watches the 1969 World Series
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
and realizes Frank has told the truth when events he described to him come true. Shepard is presumed dead after a struggle with Frank and Frank is cleared of charges.
Frank returns home and repairs the radio, happily telling John Shepard is dead and Julia is saved. However, John's memories still include Julia's death. Suddenly, in both 1969 and 1999, Shepard breaks into the home. While father and son both fight Shepard, the past Shepard is distracted by Julia and Frank shoots off his hand with a shotgun, causing him to flee. In 1999, Shepard is choking John when his hand shrivels and vanishes. The house ripples and the furnishings change as the timeline is adjusted, and Shepard is shot and killed by an aged Frank, the new alterations to the timeline saving both him and Julia. The film concludes with a neighborhood baseball game in 1999. Frank and Julia are there, along with John, who is now married with an ex-girlfriend who left him in the original timeline, and is pregnant with his son, Frank. As John wins the game with a home-run that allows both himself and Frank to score, a montage is shown of John's life with his parents in the new timeline.
Cast
- James CaviezelJames CaviezelJames Patrick Caviezel, Jr. is an American film actor, usually credited as Jim Caviezel. He is known for the roles of Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, Bobby Jones in Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Detective John Sullivan in Frequency, Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte...
as John Sullivan - Dennis QuaidDennis QuaidDennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
as Frank Sullivan - Shawn DoyleShawn DoyleShawn Doyle is a Canadian actor.Doyle was born and raised in Wabush, Newfoundland, the son of actor Jerry Doyle. He moved to Toronto to study theatre at York University....
as Jack Shepard - Elizabeth MitchellElizabeth MitchellElizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
as Julia "Jules" Sullivan - Andre BraugherAndre BraugherAndre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
as Satch DeLeon - Noah EmmerichNoah EmmerichNoah Nicholas Emmerich is an American film actor who first broke out in the film Beautiful Girls. He was later seen in movies like The Truman Show, Cop Land, Frequency, Love & Sex, Windtalkers, Miracle, Super 8 and Little Children.-Early life:Emmerich was born in New York City to a Jewish family,...
as Gordon "Gordo" Hersch - Melissa ErricoMelissa Errico-Biography:Born in Manhattan, Errico moved to Manhasset on Long Island at an early age. Her parents, a sculptor and a physician/concert pianist, supported her early interest in ballet, and gymnastics, and Melissa competed nationally as a gymnast...
as Samantha Thomas - Jordan BridgesJordan Bridges-Early life:Bridges was born in California, and is the son of actor Beau Bridges and wife Julie Landfield. He is the nephew of Jeff Bridges and grandson of Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Bridges.-Career:...
as Graham Gibson - Peter MacNeillPeter MacNeillPeter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor who has starred in several TV shows and movies.His film credits have included The Hanging Garden , Geraldine's Fortune, Giant Mine, Lives of Girls and Women, The Events Leading Up to My Death, Dog Park, Something Beneath and A...
as Butch Foster - Michael CeraMichael CeraMichael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
as Gordon Hersch Jr. - Marin HinkleMarin HinkleMarin Elizabeth Hinkle is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing the role of Judith Harper-Melnick, Alan Harper's ex-wife on the hit series Two and a Half Men and her role as Judy Brooks the sister of the series lead Lily Manning on Once and Again.-Career:Hinkle started her career on...
as Sissy Clark - Daniel Henson as 6-year-old John "Johnny" Sullivan
- Stephen Joffe as 6-year-old Gordon "Gordo" Hersch
Production
The film was greenlitGreenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
for production on January 21, 1999, although the script had been around much longer. Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
was rumored to be taking the role of Frank Sullivan in 1997, but fell out of the deal after a dispute over his wage. Director Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin is a Finnish-American film director and producer. He is best known for Die Hard 2 , Cliffhanger , The Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea...
was also rumored to be director on the film. Gregory Hoblit
Gregory Hoblit
Gregory King Hoblit is an American Hollywood film director and TV producer.Hoblit was born in Abilene, Texas, the son of Elizabeth Hubbard King and Harold Foster Hoblit, an FBI agent. Much of Hoblit's work is oriented towards police, attorneys, and legal cases...
first read the script in November 1997, eighteen months after his own father's death. In a 2000 interview shortly after the American release of Frequency, he described the film as "high risk" since the project had already been passed among several directors, including one of note who had twice the budget Hoblit was given. In the same interview, he described the difficulty he had finding the two leads. Hoblit realized he needed an "experienced actor" to portray Frank Sullivan, and thus settled on Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
.
Reception
Frequency received generally good reviews along with several mixed. Based on 123 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film has a 70% Approval Rating (Fresh) with the consensus as "a tight blend of surprises and suspense [that] keeps audiences spellbound". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
called the film's plot "contrived", yet gave the film a favorable review. He also pointed out similarities with the films The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
and Ghost
Ghost (film)
Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
. David Armstrong, of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, praised the moments in the film when John and Frank Sullivan talked to each other over the radio but criticized the "unintentionally funny climax". He also praised actor Shawn Doyle's performance as the Nightingale killer, calling him "convincingly creepy". Todd McCarthy of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine said despite Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel's physical separation in the film, they formed a "palpable bond that [gave] the picture its tensile strength". McCarthy noted the screenwriter, Toby Emmerich's, "bold leap into reconfiguring the past" created "agreeable surprises" and an "infinite number of possibilities" to the plot's direction. He added, however, that the serial killer subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
was "desperately familiar".
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
gave the film two stars out of four, criticizing the "coincidence-laden climax" but wrote that "poor writing [did] not demand subpar acting", praising Frequency
Frequency made US$68,106,245 worldwide and was released in 2,631 theaters in the United States. Frequency was nominated for the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic Presentation
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, but ultimately lost out to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...
. The film's ending song, "When You Come Back to Me Again
When You Come Back to Me Again
"When You Come Back to Me Again" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. The other writer on the song was Jenny Yates. The song was recorded for the movie Frequency. It was then released in May 2000 as the lead single from the album, Scarecrow....
", was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
. Written by Jenny Yates and Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
(performed only by Brooks), the song failed to win, losing out to "Things Have Changed
Things Have Changed
"Things Have Changed" is a song from the film Wonder Boys, written and performed by Bob Dylan. The song was released as a single on May 1, 2000...
" from Wonder Boys
Wonder Boys (film)
Wonder Boys is a dark comedy film based on the 1995 novel of the same title by Michael Chabon. Directed by Curtis Hanson, it stars Michael Douglas as professor Grady Tripp, a novelist who teaches creative writing at an unnamed Pittsburgh university...
.
Trivia
Professor Brian GreeneBrian Greene
Brian Greene is an American theoretical physicist and string theorist. He has been a professor at Columbia University since 1996. Greene has worked on mirror symmetry, relating two different Calabi-Yau manifolds...
, a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, plays himself in the film. In the fictional world of the film, he plays a younger adult version of himself in the past (in 1969 timeframe), and he is again featured as an older man, in the present (1999 timeframe). However in reality, Dr. Greene was about 6 years old in 1969.