When making a “found footage” film, the trickiest part is ensuring that enough information is revealed without defeating the notion that what is documented is reality. Because the consistent point-of-view shots grow quickly tiresome, the film should also provide an innovative plot to keep the audience intrigued. Unfortunately, Chronicle fails to deliver in both of these aspects, and what results is an anticlimactic story with poor character development.
While this may be the film’s attempt at depicting life as it really is, the audience too quickly loses interest in its protagonists to care about their outcomes altogether. Chronicle focuses on the life of Andrew Detmer, a whiny teenage introvert who, for no explained reason, begins to document his day-to-day life. From the first few minutes of recording, we learn that Andrew is an only child with an alcoholic father, a dying mother and a cousin who serves as his only friend. Despite this somber introduction, excitement sparks somewhat when Andrew records the discovery of an underground tunnel with Matt, his cousin, and his classmate Steve, the presumed most popular guy in school. While strange discoveries and even stranger behavior occur in the tunnel, Andrew’s camera disappointingly stops recording before anything particularly extraordinary is shown. I guess that’s the price we pay for seeing a movie where less is supposed to be more.
The recording eventually resumes, displaying Steve and Matt unharmed in the light of day. However, due to the baseball hovering over Matt’s face, it appears that both characters have suddenly acquired supernatural powers. Although its reasons are unexplained (which seems to occur much too often in Chronicle), we are left to assume the findings in the tunnel have granted these boys telekinetic strength. Their abilities are weak at first, enabling them to do such things as levitate objects, create force fields and remain unharmed by physical damage. Luckily, Andrew develops the ability to hover his camera over him and his friends, so that he is no longer a teenage voice behind the camera. A series of documented pranks and experiments serve as a montage of their developing skills, showing the guys telekinetically moving a parked car to eventually being able to soar the skies of their Seattle suburb. It seems to be all fun and games for this pack of superherobros; that is, until they begin to realize the potential consequences of their powers.
Once problems at home worsen, Andrew inevitably begins to recognize the dark side of his abilities. What results is an uncontrollable abuse of power, which continues to strengthen until lives are lost and mayhem ensues. As Andrew becomes more familiar with his supernatural traits, he assumes the position of a villain who will let nothing stand in his way. However, while Andrew’s hostile abuse of his superpowers amounts to the most exciting part of Chronicle, he is all too soon defeated, thus ending societal chaos and the film itself.
My biggest objection with Chronicle is its wasted potential of a truly awesome concept. With the portrayal of fairly relatable twenty-first century teenagers, I feel Chronicle should have been chockfull of moments where my peers and I could rave about how those guys could be us on the screen. Unfortunately, it is seventy-five minutes of three unlikable characters prancing with joy about their superpowers one minute, then regretting ever having them the next. Andrew’s shift from good to evil happens much too quickly, and even with such a short runtime, there is little use of superpowers that actually takes place.
While Chronicle certainly has some “ooh, ah” moments, I found myself constantly begging for more. With so many opportunities to dazzle the audience, the film unfortunately sticks to its cop-out everyday-life approach. For critics, I am sure its realism is what granted Chronicle its 85% Rotten Tomatoes rating. However, I feel that a “found footage” film like Cloverfield certainly has the same realistic effect while successfully breaking the norms of reality.
Perhaps I approached Chronicle with too high expectations, anticipating a full-fledged action flick as opposed to a relatable documentary with only a slight twist. However, when a seventy-five minute film appears to take twice as long as my seventy-five minute Macro class, I know I can’t be the only one who found this movie to be a let down.
Directed by Josh Trank, Chronicle is rated PG-13.
