Tell me I'm not the only one that loves this movie. A found footage superhero movie? There's no way that would work! Well, it does, and you cannot convince me otherwise. My third favorite movie is Chronicle. Released in 2012, directed by Josh Trank, and written by Max Landis, Chronicle tells the story of three friends that stumble across a mysterious, glowing object in a cave. The object emits a beam of energy that gives the three characters telekinetic powers. That's all I'm gonna tell you in this paragraph, cause I really recommend that you watch the movie before you read any further. This movie really is that good. Seriously, go watch it if you haven't seen it. Do yourself a favor.
Out of everything that the movie does right with the story, the main thing that draws me to this movie is the performances from the actors. Naturally, given the found footage aspect of the film, the actors are gonna have to make the audience feel like this footage was indeed just found somewhere. I'm proud to report that they do. They do in spades. The three leads are Dane DeHaan as Andrew Detmer, Alex Russell as Matt Garetty, and Michael B. Jordan as Steve Montgomery. Out of those three names, you probably only recognize one. Jordan is doing very well right now, especially this year, but you might know Dane as the Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Alex as Billy in the 2013 Carrie remake that nobody liked. Okay, so Jordan is doing a lot better than the other two, but I'd argue that it was this movie that put him on the map. The three leads do such a good job. The way that Detmer, Matt, and Steve react to how their powers grow and develop feel so real. They react with joyful, astonished laughter when they find out they can fly or move parked cars, and they react with genuine horror when awful things happen, like when Andrew pushes a truck into a river and almost kills a guy. These actors do such a good job of conveying the "found footage" aspect of the film. Michael B. seriously deserved the blow up in popularity he's received recently, and I really wish that Dane and Alex had had one, too. They earned it.
And the other actors do a good job, too. Michael Kelly, who played Andrew's father, did a great job of giving us the worst character in the film (in a good way). Richard Detmer is a horrible father, and Michael sells it very well. Him and Dane play off of each other so well, it gives you the sense that Richard was the push that sent Andrew down the dark path he follows as the film progresses. But, seriously, if you're a parent reading this, don't be like Andrew's Dad. Do not be like Andrew's Dad. The background characters that the leads interact with in a couple of the scenes do their jobs serviceably. No complaints from the extras. I also gotta give props to Trank for his directing (or, rather, the camera tricks). Most of the time, the footage comes from Andrew's camera. However, when Andrew isn't holding the camera (like when the camera is floating, when Andrew's unconscious, or when the scene doesn't involve Andrew), that had to be Trank. My point is that you can never tell the difference. The cinematography is great, and I love the fact that some of the footage doesn't come from Andrew's camera. We get footage from hospital security cameras, from cell phones, and the fact that the finale is set in public sets the stage from countless sources of recording possibilities.
The story is handled very well, in my opinion. When they first get their powers, they choose to use them for fun. They mess with people in a grocery store, they see if they can stop tennis balls from hitting them in the face, they build LEGO sets in half the time. And then Andrew discovers that his powers are developing at a faster rate than Steve and Matt's. This gives Andrew the mindset that he must be a higher life form (Or, as he himself puts it, an "apex predator"). He's the first to discover that they can fly, he's the first to discover that people can get seriously injured (or killed) by their powers, he's the first to stop objects in mid-air or make objects levitate. He is the most powerful of the three, and he lets it go to his head. He turns evil midway through the film, and Dane DeHaan sells it perfectly. Michael B. Jordan may have gotten the biggest career bump, but Dane is the MVP of this movie. We get hints that something might happen to Andrew a couple times in the beginning, but it finally comes full circle after three events take place: His father beating him up after the party scene (really, you can attribute anything his Dad does to his descent into maddness, but I chose this moment because it's when Andrew finally snaps) the entire school treating him like an outcast after Andrew vomits on his party date, and Steve dying in a thunderstorm midway through the film. From that point, Andrew goes totally bonkers. He kills people, he robs a gas station, he goes on a rampage in the city. He becomes the definitive bad guy of the movie. His turn from light to dark is handled remarkably. I know that people have made Carrie comparisons when talking about Andrew's character and story, but I personally always saw more similarities between Detmer and Anakin Skywalker. Maybe it's cause I always have Star Wars on the brain, I don't know.
I also really like how there isn't a soundtrack. All of the songs we hear, like "Price Tag" or "Ziggy Stardust", are heard on the radio. Most of the time, a character will interact with the song (like singing or dancing along to it). The only usage of a score comes in during the closing credits. The fact that the movie runs most of it's scenes with nothing but various ambient noises in the background is very cool. It does a lot to adds to the suspense of the third act, cause it's supposed to be a real life event caught on tape. A thrilling Avengers-esque song wouldn't play in a real life fight. And the special effects deserve a special mention, too. The CGI is very good, especially considering 12 million budget. That sounds like a lot, yes, but it's really not when you're making a super powers movie like this. The fact that the effects look as good as they do with a budget that unusually small is very impressive. The effects do a lot to add to the overall, for lack of better words, effectiveness of the movie. Everything from the flying, to Andrew crushing that car, to a guy's teeth being violently ripped out of someone's mouth. It all looks super realistic. The only effect that maybe didn't look that good is the LEGO set stacking up by itself. But, again, unusually small budget given what kind of movie this is. I can excuse the occasional slip up, especially since the effects are great for the rest of the time.
And the final thing I'd like to touch on is the screenplay. Max, if by some miracle you're reading this, you did a great job with the dialogue. Every word out of these characters' mouths feels like it's exactly what would be said in that given moment if this story had indeed taken place in real life. The playful banter between the three friends, Matt's desperate pleas to get Andrew to calm down in the third act, Andrew's heart-wrenching cries to get his useless father to help out when he can't find his Mom's medicine. The dialogue is incredibly well-written. It also makes for some realistic character choices. Andrew's turn to the dark side is very well-justified, it's one of the more interesting things about the character. Matt's response to Andrew going crazy is also well-handled. He does everything in his power to save his cousin before he's finally forced to do the unthinkable. Killing Andrew wasn't his first plan, it was a last resort. His desperate cries of "Don't make me do this" before he finally kills him still tears me apart. Matt was a bit of a jerk throughout the film, but he does love Andrew. It's confirmed when Matt goes to Tibet, the place Andrew had said he'd always wanted to go in an earlier scene. I like how the movie ends on a heartwarming note, especially after the utter carnage of the previous scene. Matt fulfilling his dead cousin's wishes out of respect for the fallen hero was powerful.
Chronicle rocks. I've been seeing a rumor flying around the Internet that Trank and Landis really want to make a sequel to this movie that involves a different set of characters. Do it! If you get the chance to, do it! I've read the Chronicle: Martyr screenplay that leaked in 2015. It's very interesting, and I'd love to see it be brought to life on the big screen. But, in case it doesn't happen, we'll always have this movie. Again, Chronicle rocks! The acting, the special effects, the writing, the very fact that it is a found footage movie. It's dark, it's deep, it can be funny, it can be disurbing. It's everything a movie like this should have been and more. I loved Chronicle. Watch it, if you haven't. Tomorrow's movie is one that not a lot of people know of, so I'm really hyped to get to spotlight it for my readers.
