Review: Chronicle
If there's one trend in Hollywood that has worn out its welcome pretty quickly, it's the "found-footage" genre of filmmaking. Since The Blair Witch Project in 1999, Wikipedia lists 79 other film projects in the genre. In the grand scheme of things, 79 films in 13 years may not seem like that many, but when you consider that the biggest problem with the genre is that the movies are on some level all the same, therein lies the issue. We need something different, and we need it badly.
Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity deviated from the formula a little bit but at the heart, they weren't that different. Chronicle promises something different, but can it deliver on that promise? Director Josh Trank and writer Max Landis certainly have had a hard task before them.
The plot of Chronicle is pretty simple. Andrew (Dane DeHaan), an unpopular loner, decides to document everything in his life as a way of opening up. Naturally, everyone thinks it's weird, including his cousin Matt (Alex Russell). One day while at a party in an abandoned part of town, Andrew, Matt and their friend -- the popular Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan) -- discover a weird hole in the middle of a field. Of course, in abandonment of all sensible logic, they go down the hole and discover something mysterious. The next day after their discovery, they've figured out that they have the ability to move things with their mind, and that they're getting stronger by the day.
No major "names" are involved with this movie, and the lack of any decent performances among the leads is the biggest problem with Chronicle. DeHaan does well with the evolution that his character goes through. Russell is the weakest of the three, but his moments of mediocrity are few, thankfully.
That being said, the film is set up extremely well. One of the biggest faults of the found-footage genre is that the first act is almost always very boring, and the setup for the events that are happening takes way too long. In Chronicle, Josh Trank and Max Landis have ensured that that while that dullness of a first act may still be there, it doesn't last very long. Chronicle also establishes rules that the movie follows throughout extremely well, and never deviates from those rules.
Where Chronicle truly excels, though, is in its special effects, which are not to be spoiled here. Just know that the film sets everything up properly. As the three friends are learning to use their powers, their precision matches up with the execution of the visual effects. When the powers are raw and untamed, the effects can look a little cheesy. Fear not, that won't last long.
Any found-footage film includes those wretched moments that are so groan-inducingly bad you'll question your decision-making abilities. This isn't a perfect film and it has those moments, but not many. What the found-footage genre needed was a shot in the arm, and Chronicle delivers it with gusto. Josh Trank and Max Landis are names to be on the lookout for in the future.