History Film / Frequency

* FromBadToWorse: John gets quite the surprise the day after saving his father when he finds out that there are six more victims in the Nightingale killings than there were pre-changing history. The killer was never caught. And one of the victims was John's mother (who unknowingly saved the killer's life in the new timeline). Cue HalfwayPlotSwitch.

** He may not 100% know what's going on, but [[spoiler:The Nightingale]] knows who to blame

John Sullivan (Jim Caveziel) is the adult son of a firefighter, Frank (Dennis Quaid), who died on the job when John was a child. John discovers that during the Aurora Borealis he can use his father's old ham radio to talk to him 30 years in the past. Using his knowledge of the past thirty years, John changes history, saving Frank from dying. They soon discover that changing the timeline has drastic consequences. A serial killer known as the Nightingale Killer had died in the old timeline - but in the new timeline, John's mother, a nurse, was not called away due to Frank's death, and thus she was able to prevent the killer's death in the hospital. In the erased timeline, the killer claimed only three victims - but in the new timeline he kills ten women, one of them John's mother.

''Frequency'' is a 2000 film directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Toby Emmerich. John Sullivan (Jim Caveziel) is the adult son of a firefighter, Frank (Dennis Quaid), who died on the job when John was a child. John discovers that during the Aurora Borealis he can use his father's old ham radio to talk to him 30 years in the past. Using his knowledge of the past thirty years, John changes history, saving Frank from dying. They soon discover that changing the timeline has drastic consequences. A serial killer known as the Nightingale Killer had died in the old timeline - but in the new timeline, John's mother, a nurse, was not called away due to Frank's death, and thus she was able to prevent the killer's death in the hospital. In the erased timeline, the killer claimed only three victims - but in the new timeline he kills ten women, one of them John's mother.

* DelayedRippleEffect: Shows up in a few places, notably when [[spoiler: John makes the first notable change in the timelines]] and when [[spoiler: the killer is fighting both John and his father in both time periods.]]

* GoingColdTurkey: How Frank Sullivan apparently quits smoking.

* NiceJobFixingItVillian: [[spoiler:1999!Shepard saying "Time to die, soldier." to 1999!John gets picked up over the radio in 1969, distracting 1969!Shepard long enough for Julia to get the jump on him.]]

* ForWantOfANail

** He may not 100 % know what's going on, but [[spoiler:The Nightingale]] knows who to blame

* OhCrap: The look on Franks face when [[spoiler: Shepard corners him in the police station]].

* PlayingGertrude: Elizabeth Mitchell is two years ''younger'' than Jim Caviezel while playing his mother. More appropriate when she plays the mother in the past, though.

* TheSlowPath: Everyone from '69, obviously, but the gold medal has to go to [[spoiler:the Jack Shepard of the final timeline. After getting his ass handed to him and his hand completely blown off by Frank, he then runs away and goes into hiding for ''thirty years'' before returning to the Sullivan house in 1999 to try to kill John.]]

* SlowMotionDrop: Frank's helmet hits the pavement when the warehouse building explodes.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming: "I'm still here, Chief."

** He may not 100 % know what's going on, but [[spoiler:The Nightengale]] knows who to blame
--->[[spoiler:'''Nightengale:''']] Time for me to steal ''your'' life away.

* [[spoiler: EarnYourHappyEnding]]

* ItGotWorse: John gets quite the surprise the day after saving his father when he finds out that there are six more victims in the Nightingale killings than there were pre-changing history. The killer was never caught. And one of the victims was John's mother (who unknowingly saved the killer's life in the new timeline). Cue HalfwayPlotSwitch.

Not to be confused with the obscure RhythmGame [[VideoGame/Frequency of the same name.]]

Not to be confused with the obscure RhythmGame [[VideoGame/FreQuency of the same name.]]

* FridgeBrilliance: The use of color and lighting in this movie is amazing. In 1969, most scenes are bright with a slight gold tinge/hue to them to show how happy John and his family were, but in 1999, at least until the end of the movie, everything is dark, tinged with blues and greys to show how miserable his future became with the death of his father [[spoiler: followed by the death of his mother when his dad lived only to die of lung cancer later on]]. Then, finally, at the end of the movie after they've all SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong, everything is bright again to show the viewer that all is right in the Sullivans' world again and they've [[EarnYourHappyEnding more than earned their happy ending]].

* [=~It's Personal~=]: