The term “thriller” covers a wide range of
sub-genres, from the stately detective
story to the slam-bang action of a
Schwarzenegger opus; from the often tired
formulae of the cop movie to the dark
psychological intricacies of film noir.
Most movies aim to thrill in some way (love
stories offer different kinds of thrills),
but the ones we think of as thrillers make
a special commitment to the momentum and
detail of plot, and offer entertainment
specially suited to the kinetic nature of
the cinema.
Two good examples of the genre open this
week – Reindeer Games and Frequency. They
are different in kind, but each offers a
couple of enjoyable and not too taxing
hours in the dark. They certainly have more
meat on their bones than that gimmicky
fantasy Mission: Impossible II.
Reindeer Games is directed by John
Frankenheimer, whose The Manchurian
Candidate is one of the most unusual (and
politically disillusioned) thrillers of the
Sixties. His more recent Ronin revisited
the world of secret agents, this time
freelance ones, with an exciting but rather
too busy plot and some strong performances
from the likes of Robert de Niro and Jean
Reno. Frankenheimer seems to like the
themes of conspiracy and betrayal, and
Reindeer Games – from a neatly constructed
script by Ehren Kruger – makes sterling use
of such possibilities.
Ben Affleck plays a convict (speciality:
car theft) who comes out of jail and
connects with a young woman (Charlize
Theron) who has become known to him via her
letters. Barely have they celebrated his
new-found freedom and their equally new-
found passion when the plot explodes and
they are sucked into a brand new criminal
caper.
The film-makers politely ask we critics not
to divulge too much of the plot, which is
fair enough, given its reliance on (and
deft manipulation of) a switchbacking
storyline. I will say, however, that
Reindeer Games is a pretty riveting tale of
cross and double-cross, well filmed in a
stark wintry landscape and containing some
fine acting. Affleck’s clean-cut manliness
stands him in good stead as the petty crook
dragooned into a dastardly scheme, while
Onse Charlize makes proficient use of her
sexy bod and a chipmunk smile that becomes
ever more sinister. Gary Sinise is a great
villain, all popping psycho eyes and Jesus
hair. Reindeer Games is fairly conventional
but of a higher standard of thriller than
most.
Frequency, by contrast, is a kind of half-
thriller, or at least it really only
becomes a fully fledged one in its second
half. Its first half, though, is exciting
enough, opening with an electrifying bit of
fire-fighting and proceeding to recount how
a young cop (Jim Caviezel) manages, in
1999, to contact his late fireman father
(Dennis Quaid) 30 years in the past. He is
able to do this via ham radio, assisted,
apparently, by a special manifestation of
aurora borealis.
That father-son business, which is quite
moving, provides some depth to the latter
half of Frequency, when it segues into a
hunt for a serial killer across a three-
decade gap. The two halves don’t quite
match (the serial-killer stuff could have
been established earlier and more
emphatically), but director Gregory Hoblit
and scriptwriter Toby Emmerich manage the
transition as seamlessly as possible, and
the movie builds to an almost unbearably
tense climax.
Caviezel is gauntly good as the haunted
young policeman, and Quaid balances the
recklessly brave fire-fighter and the
loving dad aspects of his character with
consummate skill. The package as a whole
works superbly as gripping entertainment,
and one is pleased to see that the ageing
techniques of Hollywood’s make-up artists
(so necessary when we’re dealing with large
temporal shifts) are improving all the
time.