CHRONICLE
Directed by: Josh Trank
Written by: Max Landis (story, screenplay)
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Ashley Hinshaw, Bo Petersen
Several decades ago, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s insect-inspired superhero, Spider-Man, gave comic-book readers the oft-quoted dictum about power and responsibility, but what if Peter Parker was a physically abused, emotionally unstable teenager with little interest in redemption and every interest in revenge? CHRONICLE, the latest entry in the seemingly inexhaustible “found footage” sub-genre (if it’s a sub-genre at all), attempts to answer that question and the underlying premise about power and responsibility in the negative. That it does without qualification or reservation is a testament to first-time feature director Josh Trank, screenwriter Max “Son of John” Landis (AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, THE BLUES BROTHERS, ANIMAL HOUSE), and a (mostly) talented cast led by Dane DeHaan as Parker’s mirror universe double (except without the spandex, the spider powers, or a compassionate caretaker or elder).
When we first meet Andrew Detmer (DeHaan), he’s setting up a video camera in his bedroom. Andrew’s decided he record everything he sees and hears, partly out of boredom, partly because he wants to record his alcoholic father’s (Michael Kelly) abusive behavior or his dying mother’s (Bo Petersen) last days. Carrying a video camera around school also reinforces Andrew’s outsider status, something he seems to cultivate consciously. Initially, the camera does more harm than good: Andrew gets bullied at school, his camera forcibly taken and tossed around. Isolated and with only his cousin, Matt Garetty (Alex Russell), for company, Andrew quietly bides his time nursing his emotional and sometimes physical wounds.
After prodding and pushing by Matt to attend a high-school rave, Andrew agrees to go, video camera on his shoulder. At the party, Matt and Andrew cross paths with Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan), a popular athlete running for student body president. Steve and Matt come across what looks like a newly dug hole in the ground. Dragging the less adventurous Andrew along into a tunnel, they discover a glowing crystalline structure (echoes of SUPERMAN’s Fortress of Solitude). A bright light and loud noise knocks out Andrew, Matt, and Steve. When they awake, they seem relatively unharmed by the experience, but quickly discover that the crystalline structure has gifted (or cursed) them with superpowers, specifically the ability to move objects with their minds. Later, they discover they can fly as well.
Andrew makes for an instantly sympathetic figure. Everything that could have gone wrong in his life has. Without emotional support from his parents or friends (because he has none), Andrew and superpowers prove to be a bad, even negative mix. While Matt tries to impose rules on their behavior (e.g., inanimate objects only, never within sight of others, never in anger), Andrew naturally chafes. He wants to use his newfound powers to fulfill every fantasy or wish he or anyone in a similar situation ever had. Conflict breaks down the bonds formed, in part, by their shared superpowers, setting up a predictable, if not necessarily unwanted, CARRIE-, AKIRA- and SUPERMAN II-inspired battle in the air and on the ground, captured by Andrew’s floating camera, CCTV video feeds, cell phones, etc.
Logical consistency and internal coherence hasn’t been a strong consideration for screenwriters or directors’ working with the ‘found footage’ conceit and it’s not here. The ‘found footage’ that makes up the climax raises the usual questions (who, what, when, and where) associated with the plot device (or gimmick, if you prefer), but if nothing else, the conceit helps to bring moviegoers closer to Andrew’s POV, especially early in the film. Still, it’s slightly disconcerting when Trank and Landis drop Andrew’s first-person POV for a limited third-person POV, in effect turning Andrew from the tragically flawed protagonist to the unsympathetic, out-of-control antagonist, something moviegoers are apt to notice even if only subconsciously.
Setting aside the ‘Found footage’ issue, the younger Landis deserves credit for developing an intriguing narrative premise and characters into a mostly compelling narrative. Trank also deserves credit, primarily for translating Landis script from page to screen without adding obtrusive directorial signature marks (as too many directors do), directing a well-rounded cast into naturalistic, caricature-free performances, and handling CHRONICLE’s ambitious scope on an obviously modest budget (minus the occasionally dodgy effects shot, that is). Landis and Trank show enough promise as first-timers that their second (and third) efforts should be (and probably will be) worth seeking out.
