Chronicle
★★★★
(2012)
Josh Trask, the director of Chronicle is only 26 years old. His $15m film, set between the endless gargle of “found footage films” and “super hero multiplex fodder” about a group of high schoolers who stumble upon a buried UFO and develop the power of telekinesis is played out wonderfully. Completely capitalising on the director’s youth and barley forgotten teenage frustration it is a film born out of Heathers, The Breakfast Club and American Pie as much as it is Superman or Spiderman. The over seen and tired set up aside, Chronicle is great fun with a wonderful script by Max Landis, the son of John who after all is said and done, knows a little bit about depicting the trauma of the teens.
Though at first the characters seem driven by endless cliche it slowly becomes clearer that Chronicle’s purpose is a bold one, to subvert two genres of film making which are very much at the fore of today’s cinema. Steve (Michael B Jordan) is the overachieving popular kid, Matt (Alex Russell) is the smart but embarrassed jock and Andrew (Dane DeHaan) our hero/anti hero, is the quiet shy kid who has decided to record his horrific home-life (American Beauty style) with his abusive, alcoholic father, dying mother and high school bullying all fitting with the Comic Book fork lore the film obviously holds so dearly.
When the three of them find a hole in the woods and it’s questionable contents the comic book rules of late are split wide open and Chronicle, gleefully at first and much darker later on explores what we think is possible with both genres.
The gangs new ability allows them to float Andrews camera, smartly avoiding all of the downfalls of found cam footage films and making the action sequences in Chronicle marvelously kinetic and affective. The young cast are convincing enough for such an out there tale but once young Andrew’s troubled life starts boiling to the surface and he begins using his power for self gratification and anger you begin to believe that the philosophy spouting Matt is the safest bet of the bunch.
Though not flawless by any means, Every moment of Chronicle (even the more over done American Pie elements) are carefully and smartly produced. It’s shabby and full of holes but between its rough and ready underdog glory it would appear that the best super hero film out there isn’t a super hero film at all.
