Conventional wisdom tells us that all the great stories have already been told. But there's still plenty of room for creative filmmakers to re-energize seemingly stale tropes.
Witness director Josh Trank's Chronicle. It not only breathes new life into the much-derided "found footage" movie but also presents a compelling superhero origins tale. The story of three high-school buddies who develop super-powers, it's that rare movie that gets the reality right so it's easier to believe the fantasy.
Josh Trank Directs Michael B. Jordan, Dane DeHaan & Michael Kelly in 20th Century Fox's Chronicle
Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) is your prototypical high school loser, a punching bag for his alcoholic dad (Michael Kelly) and the school bullies. The only good things in his life are his second-hand movie camera - his only defence against Dad's attacks - and cousin Matt Garetty (Alex Russell), who only hangs out with Andrew out of pity. Matt's also friends with would-be class president, the ultra-smooth and charismatic Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan).
One night at a barn party, Andrew, Matt and Steve discover a hole in the ground leading to a mystery. The rest of the night is a bit hazy but the boys find themselves developing unusual powers: telekinesis, flight and invulnerability.
Will they make like Superman and fight for Truth, Justice and Mom's jello salad? Hell no: they're out to make mischief, get popular at school and score with cute chicks - in Matt's case, a girl who films various events for her blog (the movie's only false note). But events conspire against Andrew, who quickly becomes the most powerful of the three. He's tempted to use his powers to lash out against his tormentors, both real and imagined.
Like last year's Let Me In, Chronicle writer/director Trank and co-writer Max Landis paint an uncomfortably real portrait of high school. This gives the viewer more sympathy for Andrew's journey towards the dark side. DeHaan's performance crackles as he plays both the movie's hero and villain with brittle intensity. Best known for appearances on True Blood and In Treatment, this film should vault him to the next level as a movie actor. There isn't a bad performance here, but DeHaan embodies Chronicle's bitter, wounded core.
But the film's best gimmick is the way they handle the "found footage" angle: Andrew learns how to levitate his camera while he's doing other things. Not only does this eliminate the suspiciously professional shot angles that hurt "found footage" flicks but it keeps Andrew within the frame while the camera's rolling. The final throwdown is also a tour-de-force as multiple cameras (including news, security cameras and cellphones) document Andrew's climactic battle against those who would stop him.
Unfortunately, there's a plot hole near the end of the film and it's a doozy. Not to give away too much but, in an earlier scene, the characters establish their invulnerability by stabbing each other with forks. Later, another character gets body-slammed by a commuter bus and survives. How then to explain a certain character's death?
Chronicle a Great Low-Budget Film
It's almost depressing to think that Chronicle and last year's Attack the Block delivered bigger thrills for less than 20% of Transformers: Dark of the Moon's studio costs. But it's also inspiring to see young filmmakers bring such uncompromising visions to the silver screen.
The CGI may be a little naff at times - plus there's that ugly plot hole - but Chronicle looks great for a $15 million movie. Add a plot that breathes new life into some hoary clichés and it's no surprise the movie earns a 4.5/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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