CHRONICLE

The found-footage style seemed to be on the way out after Cloverfield’s shaky camera made people sick and films like Quarantine and Paranormal Activity 3 failed to find the same audiences of their predecessors. However, just when I thought it was gone, Chronicle arrives. This film combines the found-footage trend with the “real” superhero trend, and the result is a pleasingly original film.

Andrew (played by In Treatment actor Dane DeHaan) is a young Dicaprio look-a-like who is bullied at school and abused at home by his alcoholic father. To distance himself from his unhappy life, Andrew starts filming everything. At a party Andrew’s cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and the most popular kid in school (The Wire actor Michael B. Jordan) show Andrew to a strange tunnel in the forrest. Deep underground the three boys discover something unknown. Cut to a few weeks later and the boys have developed telekinetic powers.

It is an odd comparison, but Chronicle is successful for many of the same reasons as the animated penguin film Surf’s Up. Both take what could have been a basic variation of stories that have already been told and used the documentary film style to bring a new perspective. Parts of this film, mostly scenes involving Matt’s love interest Casey, are included via her camera. Those scenes twist the narrative to fit the filming style instead of the other way around, and the result is inelegant. But any moments of contrivance are overshadowed by the film’s brutally effective climax.

Spoilers have no place in a review, so it is enough to say that the escalation suggested by the film’s tagline (“Boys Will Be Boys”) is very present. Give teenagers telekinetic powers and a lot will happen. The filmmakers cover up their dependence on stock high school characters, such as the bullies and jocks, with a steady flow of clever moments and effective emotional beats. Overall, the original parts of this film outweigh the unoriginal, and the last half-hour is very original.

Rather than using the found-footage format just to have cheap cinematography, the filmmakers have crafted a story that is emotionally engaged by the presence of the camera. The character’s relationships to each other and to the camera are the unique result of Chronicle’s format, which makes this more than a retread of Push or Carrie; Chronicle is a satisfying, modern, thriller.