Chronicle is a
found-footage superhero movie that explores what happens after a group of high
school students gain amazing abilities. It starts out like a teen drama, with a
shy young guy called Andrew buying a video camera to film his daily events. Through
this, we are given a glimpse into his difficult home-life with his drunk,
abusive father and bedridden mother. We are also shown his school-life, where
he gets picked on and is often seen sitting by himself.
His cousin Matt takes him along to a party but he inevitably
ends up sitting alone outside in the dark. Steve, a popular kid running for
school president, finds him and asks him to bring his camera so they can
investigate something strange nearby. Andrew, Matt and Steve venture down into a
mysterious hole in the ground, where they discover an unexplained glowing (and
possibly alien) entity. The three students soon find they have gained special
powers like being able to move objects with their mind (telekinesis) and fly.
Instead of using their abilities to fight crime, like the
superheroes we usually see on screen, they use them to have fun and do things
high school boys like to do. They play pranks in a store by levitating toys,
covertly lift girls' skirts up with a leaf blower, and move people’s cars to
different parking spaces. However, these harmless pranks start to get out of
hand as they grow stronger and develop their powers.
Andrew uses his abilities at the school talent show and
becomes popular with everyone for the first time. But this turns out to be only
temporary, and after a run-in with his dad, he spirals out of control and starts
using his powers recklessly. His loneliness and anger cause him to resent those
without superpowers (who he sees as inferior), and he becomes unwilling to
follow anyone else’s rules and limit the use of his powerful abilities. He is
clearly very troubled emotionally, after years of being an outcast and feeling
unwanted both at home and at school. This detachment and his newfound powers
cause him to think that he is above everyone else (he describes himself as an “apex
predator”), which ultimately leads up to a dark and explosive climax for the
film.
Chronicle marks
the directorial debut of Josh Trank and is the first feature length screenplay
by Max Landis (son of John, director of The
Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London). The
film is a great accomplishment by these newcomers, with its intriguing premise
and exploration of an effective origin story. It gives viewers a fresh take on
both the found-footage film and the superhero genre, with special abilities
that feel more believable than usual. It raises the question of what to do when
given great power and shows why you need to use it responsibly, not misuse it.
[DVD screener provided by flickfeast. Review originally posted here]
