Chronicle (2012)- Review

Watched. 

My rating: 10/10. 

 

 I was gonna give it a 9.9 but then I thought, 'Screw it!'. Holy hell, bloody sandwiches is this a good movie!

 Its the most realistic superhero movie ever made, probably. Its about a three teenagers who get telekinetic powers but one of them- Dane DeHaan's Andrew- can't help but use them to ease his pain as a victim of abuse, both in at his home and in his social life. And when I say "ease his pain", what I really mean screw everybody up who ever bullied him. Its this really steady decent of this character who is the prey at the beginning of the story and evolves/devolves into this "apex predator", as he himself puts it in the film. This is what I wanted from a alternate reality Superman origin story. And its really freaky how similar it is to a short story I wrote four or five years ago, I wonder where it is.

 The performances are all top notch. Dane Dehaan, Michael B Jordan and Alex Russel share this perfect chemistry with each other that the scenes feel improvised at many points. The writing makes the movie feel like a modern fable. Its to believe that this film was written and directed by Josh Trank; I was never going to forgive him for Fant4stick (2015) but, now I think he deserves the credit where he's due. The decision to utilize found footage style to make this movie was so creative and absolutely perfect. The shaky, handheld footage hides the flaws in CGI and make the visuals that much more immersive; I'm not a big fan of jump scares, but this film has some of the best. The sound design is a cherry on top of this delicious sundae.  

 Alright, so here's how I read this movie (spoilers). When we meet our main character, Andrew, he has just turned on a camera that he bought for his protection. The camera is just a tool for him to record everything, so that his father, or hopefully anyone else, doesn't hit him. He takes the camera everywhere with him, recording his - apparently- every waking hour. But when he takes it outside, he realizes that he can't just put it on a tripod somewhere. By carrying it, he realizes that he has to frame the shots.

 Later, he attends a party, still recording, where he meets this other girl who is also recording. She explains that she is getting videos for her blog (vlog?). And soon after that scene, he gets his telekinetic powers from an asteroid-like object buried in the ground.

 So here's the thing. I think that this whole story is really about an artist falling into the bottomless pit of arrogance. To be more specific, by artist I mean a writer/director. Like many filmmakers, Andrew just starts to use his camera for practical purposes. But after spending some time with it, he realizes that it can be so much more than just a mundane tool.

 So he starts framing his shots in different ways. For instance, at the party he shoots a DJ's hands working on his station, composing the dancing crowd at different heights. Because of the girl who makes videos for her blog, he realizes that he can use his camera for his creative outputs.

 He later finds the buried asteroid which gives him and his two friends superpowers. That's him discovering his talent for writing. The talent for writing, like the asteroid, crashed from space (his environment) and buried itself deep in his subconscious. Its only after he meets the girl that he finds the crater asteroid made.

 Let me elaborate. What superpower does he get in the movie? Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the power of mind (that's probably not the best definition, but you get the point). And what does writing do? Somebody somehow reads your words, and magically the thoughts you had written turn up in the head of the reader; kind of like telepathy!

 We later see them moving objects around telekinetically and Andrew is recording everything. They are amazed by what they can do with this new found ability, so they try testing it in front of other people. When other people, their audience (readers), are baffled by what they had witnessed, it makes the fiction become reality for the three of them. Fiction affecting reality, would be the better way to put it.

 So they record all the experiments they do with their powers. That is basically them making movies. Andrew is a natural at using his abilities and he knows how to actually use the camera, which makes him stronger than the other two. He is the writer and director. Throughout the runtime, we can see him getting better with the camera and his powers. He begins to frame much more complex shots. He starts to use dramatic push ins and push outs, the god's eye view etc. The camera, instead of just sitting idly on a tripod, flies around him in with grace, as if dancing with him. After a time, he doesn't even consciously think about operating the camera; he would always keep it exactly the way he wants it and do something else simultaneously. He is now the best writer and director. Unfortunately, he is not the best at writing his own faith.

 In his artistic pursuits, he soon starts believing that he is better than everyone else. And because of that, he becomes a less observant person which ultimately becomes his downfall. You don't observe something which you consider is beneath you. You might notice it but, you won't observe it. And to be a successful artist, you must observe your surroundings and the people who are in it. You can't believe that you are the apex predator and still go on being an artist. And that's why his competition, his friend Matt, kills (beats) him; because he never lost his humble demeanor.

 But that's just how I read it. There were a few more details that I wanted to talk about, but unfortunately they've slipped my mind. This film really cured my writer's block. This was the wave I was waiting for.

 Chronicle is a cautionary tale for artists disguised as a superhero movie.