Today on a very special episode of Degrassi, our clumsy teens survive a
radioactive explosion they uncover deep within the ground. Soon they begin to
develop superpowers and make a pact to tell no one about it. Actually, all
snark aside, the subject of this February release is something refreshingly
ambitious and most of the way successful, considering it was released during
the time of the year when most genre movies are at best forgettable and at
worst barely-watchable. “Chronicle” is the debut film by the 25 year old
director Josh Trank and the 26 year old screenwriter Max Landis (son of
“American Werewolf In London” director John Landis). Though neither of them have been working in
the industry long, with this weekend-winning calling-card they prove to be a young
creative force to be reckoned with.
The film revolves
around three high school friends who share a secret together. The main character Andrew, played by Dane DeHaan,
is a bullied nerd from a troubled family. Being misunderstood and
disenfranchised, Andrew decides he is going to film all of his daily
experiences, no matter how mundane or humiliating they might be. His popular
cousin Matt, whom he commutes to school with, seems to be his only friend, but
even he doesn’t seem to want Andrew around too much. This all changes the night
they get exposed to radioactive energy from a glowing structure they find
behind a barn-rave with the senior class presidential nominee Steve. After the explosion the camera jumps a few
days into the plot, where we see the three teens practicing their new
telekinetic powers in the back yard with a baseball. Quickly, they learn that
the more they use their powers the stronger they become, and like Spiderman has
taught us, “with great power comes great responsibility”. However, if you’re a disaffected dweeb who
has to dodge bullies every day, then it might be more power than one can be
responsible for.
This movie aims to
cover a lot of ground and it wants to address many issues. Of course there is
the obvious reinterpretation of the superhero/supervillian concept. Max Landis’s
script spends a great amount of screen-time within the mind of the main
character. As we watch Andrew transform into a megalomaniac we buy into it
because we have followed him so closely for so much of movie. The film also evokes some post-Columbine
undertones just below the surface of the science fiction plot; a depth I was
not prepared for and was pleasantly surprised by. The film also explores a kind
of naïve bonding between young adolescent males. As they ignore the women in
their lives to explore and experiment with their powers together, they seem to
be exploring something else within the subtext. Whether overt or suggested,
it’s the layers within “Chronicle” that gives it the extra nudge of effort and
consideration that we usually don’t get in special effects movies anymore.
However, with that said, the movie is not without its problems too.
Every now and then
the center of consciousness changes within the film, making the unfortunate
framing device of the found footage conceit less believable. These kinds of multiple
perspective shifts become increasingly jarring as the movie goes. (Here is pro-tip for young filmmakers who
want to explore this style; if you have to introduce another character who also happens to film everything she does,
then you are probably overreaching.) In fact at times it becomes obnoxious and
mechanical to see how many ways they can come up with having a camera in the
scene. Sometimes it works and sometimes it feels like they are trying to solve
a writing problem. Also, there a few places where the CGI leaves a little to be
desired, especially when basic things like Lego’s and rubber balls aren’t
always convincing. Lastly, the word ‘dude’ pops up a bit more in the dialogue than
I would prefer. Though not without its
flaws, “Chronicle” is a thoughtful science fiction movie that taps into teenage
angst in a unique way. Successfully it connects
its central characters with the type of outsider’s who pay to read comics like
X-Men for the much needed support and familiarity. Here is a movie that doesn’t
win its audience with star power or a franchise affiliation, but with solid
storytelling. Though the roots of “Chronicle” are evident, it seems to be doing
the same old thing in a fairly new and inventive way.
Grade: B
Originally Published in The Basic Alternative/Feb-2012
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