Chronicle (2012)

One of the most disappointing things about the recent “found footage” craze is that no one has really taken the format and used it to tell an interesting story. Normally, like in the Paranormal Activity films, the style is utilized as nothing more than a scare delivery service. The Last Exorcism took a stab at adding some depth to the formula, even if the ending just about undid all the considerable good that came before. This is why Chronicle is such a wonderful surprise: it takes the found footage format and uses it in service of engaging characters and a thrilling, haunting story. The premise is ridiculous, and the certain ways it plays with the format are equally absurd, but that it makes all of the craziness so convincing is a pretty phenomenal feat.

We follow much of the action through the camera of Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan), a high school loner whose mother is on her deathbed and whose father spends much of his day drunk and abusive. His only real friend is his cousin Matt (Alex Russell), and when he walks the halls at school he is bullied and mocked. When he goes to a barn party with Matt, they discover a random hole in the middle of a field along with popular kid Steve (Michael B. Jordan, aka Wallace from The Wire). They climb inside, and after going deep underground they find a glowing orb (or something) that gives them superpowers. Suddenly they can control objects with their mind and they even teach themselves to fly. For a while, playing with their new powers is nothing but fun and games. Then things take a turn for the worse.

Above all, Chronicle is really just a superhero origin story. What makes it unique is that it treats it subject seriously, and it also realizes that not every awkward teenager that gets superpowers is going to use them for the good of mankind. In fact, the characters never even consider the possibility of becoming heroes. On the contrary: they spend most of the film using their powers for the purposes of messing with toy store customers and performing neat tricks for their own amusement. Only after one of them causes a car accident do they realize that there could be some danger, but even then it hardly seems to matter. Before long they’re showing off at the high school talent show. In other origin stories, the heroes learn a lesson early on and spend the rest of the movie fighting a villain and rising to prominence. One of the characters in Chronicle may eventually reach this point, but it’s not until after everything goes wrong.

If there is a flaw in Chronicle, it’s that it spends a whole lot of time cheating with the found footage format. Other characters are introduced solely to provide a new camera angle, and one character’s decision to have the camera floating around him feels more like a lame excuse to show his face than anything else. (There’s also a moment later that involves the use of several levitating video devices which is just silly.) I also had a slight problem with the visual slickness of the film, which doesn’t seem to quite match the equipment being used to capture these events. In fact, the movie looks so polished that you may not realize just how bold the storytelling of this movie is. Chronicle may have been best served to get rid of the found footage concept altogether. Many may argue the importance of the camera in the story, but even then I’m not sure you need to get rid of the camera altogether. At least it wouldn’t have felt like they were circumventing the system.

That said, I only noticed this after the fact. While I was watching Chronicle, I was completely and utterly engrossed by just how brave the movie was. This movie has so many opportunities to pull its punches, and it denies them all. For this, I give director John Trank and screenwriter Max Landis (son of John) all the credit in the world. It helps that their movie wasn’t that expensive, but not much here reeks of studio intervention. (Only the last scene feels like it could have been tacked on, but it ruins nothing outside of the subpar backdrop work.) There are moments in this movie that get you excited for what Trank and company have in store for the future, not the least of which involves ingenious use of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust.” This isn’t a thrown-together found footage thriller. This is a movie made by actual filmmakers.

I would be remiss if I didn’t properly praise the actors in Chronicle, particularly the revelatory work of the disturbed-yet-human Dane DeHaan. Watch him for 20 minutes and you immediately know this kid has the potential to be a star. (I say ‘kid,’ but he’s older than me.) Jordan, meanwhile, has the “popular kid” thing down pat, and Russell is also good as the likable cousin. But when DeHaan is onscreen, he completely commands your attention. Chronicle is the result of all the right people coming together at precisely the right time, and they have created an uncommonly intelligent sci-fi film that gets it right because it knows one thing that most mainstream movies don’t: kids are dumb. If you give them too much power, the results could be disastrous.

Grade: A-