This weekend I decided to go check out the new documentary-style superhero flick “Chronicle” at the local cinema. Now that I’ve seen it, I find myself trying to decide whether or not I liked it. It’s been driving me crazy. So I thought maybe I’d give you a peek into my mind and let you decide if I liked it.
Spoiler Alert: I should tell you right now that this post is a total spoiler! I totally give away the ending.
The story is about three high school boys who find a mysterious pulsating crystal underground. Of course, the crystal gives them super powers and their new secret causes them to grow close while learning how to use said powers. The crew consists of three archetypal characters: Andrew- the misunderstood, bullied, and down trodden protagonist; Matt- the philosopher, too-cool-for-school cousin of Andrew; and Steve- the popular, charming, king of high school.
First off, I’m not sure if I liked the documentary style of camera work. Some parts seemed very visually captivating, while others seemed hokey and took me out of the film. When the view of the camera changed from Andrew’s camera to Matt’s love interest, Casey’s, it seemed a bit forced. It seemed like in order to keep the camera work interesting, the filmmakers had to write in a character who was also obsessed with filming. It was an interesting idea and it took me almost the entire movie to decide if I liked it or not. I made my decision toward the end when Andrew and Matt engaged in their final battle. It seemed like there was all of this awesome epic action going on, but the audience couldn’t see it. At the beginning of the sequence (when we only had the view from Andrew’s camera) the audience mostly only saw the floor or an unintersting shot combined with loud super-destruction noises. Later (when Andrew’s camera is left behind), we get news, security, and police footage. The constant changing between camera styles, video quality, and sound quality really didn’t do it for me. I felt like I was missing out on the awesome battle.
On a side note, this is why I loved “District 9” so much. It started off as a documentary style movie, but then slowly drifted into a real movie with omniscient camera angles. Then, the documentary style was able to be used as a storytelling device to enhance the narrative and not hinder it. I feel like “District 9″ is the bar in which all documentary style movies should try to reach.
My second comment is that I really wish Chronicle had been a television series instead of a movie. I loved all of the characters and found myself very invested in them. Although, because of the character development and the time spent letting me get to know the characters, I felt like the movie was extremely boring in some parts. I am 100% for character development and I think these in particular had a lot to offer.
Third, my favorite character: Andrew. I love it when it is unclear who the protagonist is and who is the antagonist. By the end of the movie, Andrew is clearly the antagonist, but the movie is also clearly about him; about his transformation. Growing up as somewhat of a social outcast myself, I have a deep affinity with villains. The fact that the audience was able to see what Andrew saw and feel what he felt let them, sort of, get on his side. Or at least understand where he is coming from. To have that kind of background story makes a great villain. Think about it; Magneto, Lex Luthor, Darth Vader, Richard III, and the list goes on in all genres. Also, when Andrew finally snaps and calls himself the Apex Predator… what a great name for a super villain! “APEX!”
By following the story through the eyes of a bizarre anti-hero, Chronicle hearkens back to a type of movie I haven’t seen in a long time. In fact, I don’t even know what to call the style, so I’ll just give you some examples: The Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
All three movies feature a protagonist who, through some extraordinary circumstance, become some type of monster. The problem is, the audience still feels for the protagonist, even though they all know the monster has to die. This is Andrew to a “T.” We all love Andrew and understand that his dad is a douche, his mom needs help, and high school sucks. But once he turns into a sociopath (by ripping legs off spiders and such) and then starts to tear up the town, we know that he is a monster and cannot survive the end of the movie.
Lastly, Deus ex machina. The spear on the statue that Matt uses to kill Andrew at the end. Am I right?
Ok, so there’s my thoughts. Hopefully they will haunt you.
Darby
