Josh Trank's "Chronicle" comes at a time where "found footage" movies are all too common and gimmicky. Hot on the heels of "The Blair Witch Project", "Cloverfield" and "Paranormal Activity" (all of which are scary films), big movie studios are wringing this concept dry in order to save huge costs and make millions worldwide. Of course, the public soon grew tired of the "fake documentary" style and excessive "realistic" shaky camera as a result.
"Chronicle" isn't a horror movie, however. I'd like to think of it as a superhero origin film without the usual glorified stuff, sort of like M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" but with more youthful angst. At first glance it could be called a comedy, and soon after the midpoint that's where things go dark. After a mysterious discovery three teens suddenly develop superpowers which they decide to use for fun. You got Andrew the anti-social loner who constantly faces sh*t every day at home and at high school, his cousin Matt who uses philosophy to justify his own loneliness, and the popular and well to do high school jock Steve who wants to help Andrew get lucky. All three use their powers for pranks and flying and other fun stuff (if one of them was Peter Parker, Uncle Ben would be rolling in his grave) until Andrew accidentally injures someone with his powers out of anger. Youthful rage, indeed. Telekinesis is no worse than a gun or a knife when placed in the wrong, and especially angry, hands.
From these three main characters the foundation is set for character development and conflict. The home footage, like all "found footage" films, definitely gives the dramatic scenes some punch, specifically with Andrew the unlucky one. The film is mostly seen from his point of view so we understand his motive as his new-found powers being to chip away his withdrawn exterior and he begins to lash out at everyone who opposes him. It is villainous, but it isn't evil, it's just tragic. Brian De Palma's "Carrie" comes to mind, except less bloody and on a more destructive scale (still around the PG-13 limit). The audience is treated to a ticking time bomb of a character while the other two try to reason with him, inevitably leading to a violent and tragic confrontation. A real hero and villain face-off.
Trank and fellow writer Max Landis (son of fellow filmmaker John Landis) succeeded with the character development here, we are not so intimidated by Andrew as we do feeling sympathetic for him. The writers do not care about the origins of their powers as they do with the emotional effects it will have on the three characters. Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan, the three main actors, are all new to me, but they give very convincing and entertaining performances, especially DeHaan who looks like he can have a rich career ahead of him.
Trank directs the film briskly and confidently. The editing doesn't feel forced, and the various camera formats (home video, CCTV) spliced together gives a raw atmosphere throughout the film (a staple of "found footage" films) which makes for a more interesting and exciting watch, specifically during the climax where Seattle comes under attack by Andrew's rage in scenes reminiscent of Katushiro Otomo's "Akira" (I doubt Jaume Collet-Serra will be as good as Trank in making his remake as engaging as this scene alone).
The special effects crew, given the budget, manage to make the destruction and the mayhem feel threatening and not just exciting. The camera work was nicely done as well as it wasn't as aggressively shaky as expected from this type of film, we even manage to view the action in its fury during the climax. It's clear Trank wasn't going for the "woah" feeling and instead was aiming for the gut. Not bad for a first feature film.
Despite some clichéd moments and a few plot holes, "Chronicle" stands on its own right as simply a solid, good film, not just a light surprise in the "found footage" department. It is a real movie, with interesting, fleshed out characters and a coherent, fluid story structure, instead of being just another "remnant of whatever happened". I wouldn't mind seeing it a second time, but I'll probably wait for the DVD/Blu-ray rental. Oh, and I hope those teens who watch this movie will at least stop bullying whoever they are bullying. They'll never know until its too late. Poor Andrew.
Overall: 73%
"Chronicle" isn't a horror movie, however. I'd like to think of it as a superhero origin film without the usual glorified stuff, sort of like M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" but with more youthful angst. At first glance it could be called a comedy, and soon after the midpoint that's where things go dark. After a mysterious discovery three teens suddenly develop superpowers which they decide to use for fun. You got Andrew the anti-social loner who constantly faces sh*t every day at home and at high school, his cousin Matt who uses philosophy to justify his own loneliness, and the popular and well to do high school jock Steve who wants to help Andrew get lucky. All three use their powers for pranks and flying and other fun stuff (if one of them was Peter Parker, Uncle Ben would be rolling in his grave) until Andrew accidentally injures someone with his powers out of anger. Youthful rage, indeed. Telekinesis is no worse than a gun or a knife when placed in the wrong, and especially angry, hands.
From these three main characters the foundation is set for character development and conflict. The home footage, like all "found footage" films, definitely gives the dramatic scenes some punch, specifically with Andrew the unlucky one. The film is mostly seen from his point of view so we understand his motive as his new-found powers being to chip away his withdrawn exterior and he begins to lash out at everyone who opposes him. It is villainous, but it isn't evil, it's just tragic. Brian De Palma's "Carrie" comes to mind, except less bloody and on a more destructive scale (still around the PG-13 limit). The audience is treated to a ticking time bomb of a character while the other two try to reason with him, inevitably leading to a violent and tragic confrontation. A real hero and villain face-off.
Trank and fellow writer Max Landis (son of fellow filmmaker John Landis) succeeded with the character development here, we are not so intimidated by Andrew as we do feeling sympathetic for him. The writers do not care about the origins of their powers as they do with the emotional effects it will have on the three characters. Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Michael B. Jordan, the three main actors, are all new to me, but they give very convincing and entertaining performances, especially DeHaan who looks like he can have a rich career ahead of him.
Trank directs the film briskly and confidently. The editing doesn't feel forced, and the various camera formats (home video, CCTV) spliced together gives a raw atmosphere throughout the film (a staple of "found footage" films) which makes for a more interesting and exciting watch, specifically during the climax where Seattle comes under attack by Andrew's rage in scenes reminiscent of Katushiro Otomo's "Akira" (I doubt Jaume Collet-Serra will be as good as Trank in making his remake as engaging as this scene alone).
The special effects crew, given the budget, manage to make the destruction and the mayhem feel threatening and not just exciting. The camera work was nicely done as well as it wasn't as aggressively shaky as expected from this type of film, we even manage to view the action in its fury during the climax. It's clear Trank wasn't going for the "woah" feeling and instead was aiming for the gut. Not bad for a first feature film.
Despite some clichéd moments and a few plot holes, "Chronicle" stands on its own right as simply a solid, good film, not just a light surprise in the "found footage" department. It is a real movie, with interesting, fleshed out characters and a coherent, fluid story structure, instead of being just another "remnant of whatever happened". I wouldn't mind seeing it a second time, but I'll probably wait for the DVD/Blu-ray rental. Oh, and I hope those teens who watch this movie will at least stop bullying whoever they are bullying. They'll never know until its too late. Poor Andrew.
Overall: 73%