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'Frequency' maintains willing suspension of disbelief

Father-and-son team overcomes science, death

The premise of the upcoming film "Frequency" is a bit hokey and a lot contrived.

Due to the unusual presence of the northern lights over the New York sky, John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel) can cruise 30 years into the past to talk to his late father Frank (Dennis Quaid) over a ham radio.

Exactly how this is possible is superficially answered with quasi-scientific techno-babble about string theory and a multi-dimensional universe, but the audience - just as much as the filmmakers - knows the "how" of it really does not matter.

The saying, "the magic of the movies," exists for a reason.

"Frequency," unlike so many other time travel films, does not allow itself to be hampered by the paradoxes and rational restraints of time travel. It instead creates an engaging energy through a narrative that is free from questions of logic and feasibility.

Liberated from these scientific impossibilities, the film allows the human side of the plot to emerge.

That side manifests itself as a suspenseful thriller - making full use of the time-traveling narrative device in delightful ways. The father - who exists in the past - and son - who is in the relative future - first make their implausible contact the night before Frank dies in an out-of-control fire.

Their mysterious ability to communicate allows John to warn his firefighter father of the danger.

While managing to save Frank's life, they altered the past - which invariably changes the future.

With this altercation, John's mother has become the victim of a serial killer who targets nurses. What follows is an exciting suspense thriller, as John and Frank continue to alter the past until they get it right and save her life - before the lines of communication disappear.

It is surprising how a plot so contrived could be so enjoyable, but director Gregory Hoblit ("Primal Fear") sustains the audience's interest by creating a palpable sense of urgency as well as surprise.

As Frank and John continuously reinvent the future, the audience delights in the rediscovery of this new future and experiences a growing suspense and anxiety as the heroes struggle to get it right.

Unfortunately, since Hoblit mainly focuses on the human side of this story, the film often delves into sappy, saccharine sentimentality. Its elongated flashback scenes speak to love, memory and family that may make people shed a single tear - but they may be too busy choking on the gushy tenderness of it all.

Moreover, the final scene is unabashedly no more than a grossly commercial vehicle for a Garth Brooks song, which draws out the ending more than it should.

"Frequency" is a touching, sentimental film that explores how loss and love cut across time. It demonstrates the bonds of family as those that are transcendent of the restraints of time and physical reality.

For all those who believe love is an undeniable magic at work, "Frequency" will melt their sappy hearts. And for everyone else, there is some cool time travel stuff going on.