Chronicle

The early moments of Chronicle had me confused, but greatly intrigued. I wasn't quite sure what the tone of the movie was supposed to be. Was it a coming of age story concerning an alienated young man? Was it a Sci-Fi thriller? Was it a teen comedy? The film was mixing these different elements, and quite expertly. As the plot unfolded, and the tone of the film became clearer, I found myself interested, but very cautious. After all, I've sat through many a movie that seemed promising at first, only to watch it dive into mediocrity or a hastily tossed-together conclusion. Would Chronicle go the same route?

To my surprise, screenwriter Max Landis (son of filmmaker, John Landis), manages to give us not only an intriguing and satisfying set up, but an ending that is equally so. This is an extremely clever and well thought out movie that seems to be as interested in its own ideas as we are, and gives them time to develop. Quite impressive, considering the movie runs only 85 minutes or so, but it never feels rushed or sloppy. At the outset, we meet three teens, Andrew (Dane DeHaan, who somewhat resembles a younger Leonardo DiCaprio), his cousin Matt (Alex Russell), and Matt's friend, Steve (Michael B. Jordan). Early on, they discover a hole in the ground in the middle of the woods with strange, unearthly sounds heard from deep within. They go down the hole to investigate, and find a bizarre alien object in a cave far below. It might be a UFO of some sort, but the movie doesn't go out of its way to explain what they found, which is for the best. All they know is that ever since their encounter with the object, the three teens develop telekinetic super powers. We watch the bond grow between the three, as they are first drawn together by this secret they share, and later by the joy of discovery of just how deep their powers go.

Of the three, Andrew is the character we get to know the best, because the story is told from his point of view. He records his experiences with his new friends with a handheld camera, so a lot of what we see are with his eyes. However, this is not a "found footage" movie along the lines of the Paranormal Activity series. We get to see the movie from the eyes of other cameras, too, such as building security cameras, and later news cameras during the very impressive climactic moments. Andrew is the loner of the group. He's frequently bullied at school, and his home life isn't much better, with his mother (Bo Peterson) deathly ill from a disease, and his dad (Michael Kelly) an alcoholic lout who constantly abuses him both physically and verbally. In fact, we get a sense that Andrew starts carrying that handheld camera everywhere he goes, so he can get some evidence on his abusive father. Perhaps he's planning to use the legal system to get back at him.

But when the three teens find that object in the woods and begin developing the powers, Andrew becomes fascinated. Not only does he have real friends he can confide in for the first time in his life, but the power he's been given to control things with his mind is perhaps the first real sense of control he's had his whole life. The movie does a great job showing how the three friends learn about their powers. They do so the way most teens would - by playing humorous pranks on unsuspecting victims, and videotaping the results for their own amusement. They also use their powers in an attempt to gain popularity in school. And yet, even when the guys are having fun, we're fixated on Andrew the entire time. He's the one who seems the most interested and in tune with the powers he suddenly possesses. He also has a tendency to lash out in anger. His two friends try to control him and try to set rules for using their powers, but Andrew's rage is constantly rising from years of pain, abuse, and neglect. He's just waiting to explode, and the tragedy is that Matt and Steve don't realize it before we do.

Chronicle is being billed and marketed as kind of a different twist on the standard superhero/super villain origin story, and while it certainly fits that description, I think it works even better as a human drama. The screenplay allows these characters time to grow, and attach themselves to the audience. They seem real, as do the performances by a cast of mostly unknown young actors with mainly TV credits before this film. There is a real sense of tragedy, as we witness Andrew's hope grow when he obtains real friends for the first time in his life, only to let his own ego and anger destroy what he has. Meanwhile, his friends find themselves oddly helpless to control him. His understanding of their powers seem so much deeper than theirs, and maybe that frightens them. There was a sense of awkwardness between the three to begin with, with Andrew and Matt not really being very close (despite being cousins), and Steve being the all around "golden boy" at school - popular and talented, which naturally puts him at odds right away with the withdrawn Andrew. The three are able to put aside their differences for a while, but as the events escalate, so do their personal prejudices toward each other.

So, yes, this is an emotionally-driven drama, but like all good superhero movies, it doesn't skimp on the spectacle either. I was quite surprised to learn that this movie had a fairly low budget, as some of the effects (such as a first-person depiction of flight when the teens learn they can fly) look as good as the stuff I've seen in movies with much bigger budgets. The climactic sequence is also worth pointing out, not only for its technical wizardry, but also for the fact that we find ourselves largely caring about the characters, and what's going on. We're emotionally involved, and for once, the movie rewards us for that. We like the characters, and while maybe things don't turn out the way we would like for these characters, the conclusions the film comes to seems fair.

Chronicle is overall a great entertainment, and the first movie of 2012 that's really worth seeing at the theater. This one really surprised me. I walked in expecting a clever spin on a superhero movie, and while I got that, I also got a great human drama as well. Considering most movies can't even deliver on what they promise, the fact that this movie does, and ends up giving us more, is no small feat.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments