I have never been a fan of "found footage" movies. I do not particularly find anything cinematic about them at all, which is why I was extremely hesitant to watch Chronicle. This film is the exception to my feelings about these kinds of movies because it actually uses the "found footage" aspect in a way that makes sense, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Chronicle is the story of three high school friends who gain superpowers after discovering an object underground. As I mentioned before, the way they use the "found footage" aspect in this film is actually what makes the movie so good. Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) buys a new camera and decides to carry it with him and film everything that happens. Essentially, we are watching everything through Andrews' eyes. What I love about this movie the most is that we see the consequences these boys go through after attaining these powers. More specifically, we see Andrew embrace the selfishness and dark side of these powers. Now, what makes even more interesting is that we see that Andrew has a drunken, abusive man for a father. He also gets bullied at school, and he does not have many friends. Naturally, we are to believe that the reason Andrew embraces the darker side and lashes out is because it is an emotional response to all of the abuse that he has been taking. Needless to say, things go bad very quickly. To be perfectly honest, movies like this rarely make my jaw drop anymore. However, the way the story unfolds and the events that happen are breathtaking to experience. By the end of the film, you truly sympathize with these characters because of what they have gone through. There are a couple of plot holes in the movie that I would like to briefly touch on. Among everything that happens throughout the film, there is scene between Matt Garetty (Alex Russell) and Casey Letter (Ashley Grace) in which we see that they break up. This scene feels completely shoehorned into the film, as there is no setup or character development leading up to this scene. Also, the way we learn that Matt is Andrews' cousin feels forced. I think we could have learned about that in a better way. All in all, though, this was a fresh take on the superhero genre. The film takes a few risks, and it pays off in a magnificent way.
Josh Trank is the director of Chronicle. I enjoy the tone that Trank brought to this movie as a filmmaker. Chronicle is a film that is grounded in reality. The characters in the film are not super beings that cannot be hurt or killed. These are people like you and me, and they face consequences for their actions. Also, again because this is a "found footage" movie, the action is filmed in ways that you have not seen before and it is truly a spectacle to behold. This is a great directorial debut by a young filmmaker.
Chronicle is a film that you want to see again as soon as it is over just because of the way it makes you feel about movies. Even though there are fantasy elements in the film, this is actually a story about real people who face real consequences for their actions. If you are looking for a fresh take on the superhero genre, Chronicle is definitely the movie for you.
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