MOVIE REVIEW: Chronicle

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russel, Michael B. Jordan
Director: Josh Trank
Genre: Superhero
Runtime: 84 minutes

I wasn’t convinced about the quality of this film before seeing it. A director without any credentials, and the lead-actor having only a few minor titles behind his name.  Combine it with a genre that benefits from bigger budgets, which this movie obviously hasn’t got, and you have a recipe for disaster. Strangely, this film turned out okay. Pretty okay, if I might say so. It’s actually quite good. Why that’s so, I’ll explain after the jump.

The movie starts out with Andrew (Dane DeHaan) setting up his newly bought camera. This immediately makes it clear that this film is another one of those ‘handycam’-movies, much like ‘Cloverfield’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’. Andrew isn’t one of the popular kids. He’s the gloomy misfit that everybody loves to ignore. He has no friend, and the only connection he has with the social world is through his understanding cousin Matt (Alex Russel). It’s not that Andrew wanted to be a misfit, it’s because of his mother’s illness and his father blaming it all on him, abusing him in the process.

Matt tries to convince Andrew to socialize with his peers, and takes him with him to a raveparty. Andrew awkwardly takes his camera to document his interactions with the people his age. Not everybody is flattered by his attempts, and Andrew ends up being kicked out of the premises. This is when Steve (Michael B. Jordan)  comes to get Andrew. He and Matt have discovered something in the woods, and they want Andrew to document it. Andrew reluctantly agrees and follows him into the woods where Matt is waiting for them next to a hole in the ground, which they decide to enter…

I’m not going to give too much away of the storyline, but the idea is: they get superpowers. The next hour is them finding out how to use their powers, while trying to act normal to outsiders. Andrew has the hardest time controlling his powers in public, trying to withhold from using them on the people who are still harassing them.

I was amazed how this film could do so much with so little. The ‘Blair Witch Project’-type of storytelling really brings out the struggles Andrew has during his everyday life. The Director, Josh Trank, really delivered something which I didn’t expect: a convincing story about the dark side of having superpowers and not being able to use them on your tormenters. This is the first feature film he’s made, and it will be most certainly not the last. I don’t know if there’s a market for ‘anti-hero’ actors like Dane DeHaan, but if so, he could dominate it. His whole presence screams anti-hero.

I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I suggest you go see it, immediately. Torrents are up, but because of legal reasons I won’t be posting any links to them. If you know how to use the internet properly, you know how to find them. Just do it. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

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2 Responses

  1. Blokker says:

    Post the .torrent’s man.. Legal reasons Smeagol reasons when it comes to behavior 99% of the people participate in.

    [Actually, if this is to be a fundamental discussion, any human behavior should be respected. Even if it’s just one person who does something that doesn’t hurt anyone. Sharing is caring. TL;DR post the torrents & trust that behavior will dictate law and not the other way around]

  2. Kaycee Jackson says:

    I love chronicle.

Please, let me know what you think!