Frequencies is no masterpiece, but it flows like a video painting. A very, very slow and somewhat muddy one.
My partner and I nearly gave up at the half-way mark, thinking that the first story arc was all there was. "It's only half-way!!" went up the despairing cry, but for some reason we persisted.
The second half of the film does contain a few rewards here and there, but eventually you begin to tire, strongly, of the absolute babble that comprises the 'plot'. It's a mish-mash of stuff about patterns and free will and, really, it's just noise: it says nothing with any meaning. But it's quite pretty, almost charming as it goes along.
This movie, like a lot of stories of this ilk, reflects strong ignorance of science, physics, maths and nature by the makers. No I don't care if you are going to tell me they have a PhD or some such nonsense you feel like making up: they don't, or if they do it's an honourary one, and in the Arts.
For a start it never mentions Chaos Theory, but half of what they bang on about is covered well and truly under that study's umbrella. Then, after attempting to couch the whole thing as a bit of a Harry Potter type universe, with its own internal logics that owe nothing to history or science - which would have been fine, if only they had honoured their own rules - it makes the fatal mistake of trying to claw its way back to legitimacy; all rounded off with a glib and silly ending.
If Frequencies was a 40 minute short, I think it could be a lovely thing. As it is, at a mighty 105 minutes, which manages to feel more like 190, I can only give it a 4/10. (I gave it a 5 initially, but the more I think about Frequencies, the less I think *of* it).
A closing plea -
Somebody make me a definitive, scientific, weird and strange (preferably Quantum Physics based) story, without the mumbo jumbo: I beseech you! Keep the non-science majors out of the writing room, and bring them in only when their talents are needed to actually make the film.
Source Code had a try, but it too contains too much waffle.
Perhaps a filmic version of the author Greg Egan's novel "Quarantine"?
Now that would be something I would gladly sit through.
-----
Update:
Good lord... I found one! Made the same year!
Coherence (2013) - see it, it dumps on this piece of fluff and positively massacres rubbish like Mr. Nobody!
My partner and I nearly gave up at the half-way mark, thinking that the first story arc was all there was. "It's only half-way!!" went up the despairing cry, but for some reason we persisted.
The second half of the film does contain a few rewards here and there, but eventually you begin to tire, strongly, of the absolute babble that comprises the 'plot'. It's a mish-mash of stuff about patterns and free will and, really, it's just noise: it says nothing with any meaning. But it's quite pretty, almost charming as it goes along.
This movie, like a lot of stories of this ilk, reflects strong ignorance of science, physics, maths and nature by the makers. No I don't care if you are going to tell me they have a PhD or some such nonsense you feel like making up: they don't, or if they do it's an honourary one, and in the Arts.
For a start it never mentions Chaos Theory, but half of what they bang on about is covered well and truly under that study's umbrella. Then, after attempting to couch the whole thing as a bit of a Harry Potter type universe, with its own internal logics that owe nothing to history or science - which would have been fine, if only they had honoured their own rules - it makes the fatal mistake of trying to claw its way back to legitimacy; all rounded off with a glib and silly ending.
If Frequencies was a 40 minute short, I think it could be a lovely thing. As it is, at a mighty 105 minutes, which manages to feel more like 190, I can only give it a 4/10. (I gave it a 5 initially, but the more I think about Frequencies, the less I think *of* it).
A closing plea -
Somebody make me a definitive, scientific, weird and strange (preferably Quantum Physics based) story, without the mumbo jumbo: I beseech you! Keep the non-science majors out of the writing room, and bring them in only when their talents are needed to actually make the film.
Source Code had a try, but it too contains too much waffle.
Perhaps a filmic version of the author Greg Egan's novel "Quarantine"?
Now that would be something I would gladly sit through.
-----
Update:
Good lord... I found one! Made the same year!
Coherence (2013) - see it, it dumps on this piece of fluff and positively massacres rubbish like Mr. Nobody!