Chronicle (2012) ****

First off, I would just like to say that I am not a fan of the documentary styled genres or ‘Found footage” films, with the shaky cameras and the heavy breathing.  It’s just not my cup of tea.  The exception being Cloverfield and District 9 of course.  Chronicle can now be added to that list.

Chronicle is the literally the recording (via handheld camera) of and by a socially outcast teenager and his supernatural experiences with his eventual friends.  That something supernatural is never actually explained, and it is left up to the audience to figure it out… or not.  Let’s face it, in reality, we never truly get the answers we are looking for either.  Think of it as a twist on the super hero genre… with very little emphasis on the hero.

Chronicle is narrated for the majority by Dane Dehaan’s Andrew.  And by narrated, I mean talking, or not talking to the camera.  It might as well be an extension of himself, another limb if you will. 

Then he, his cousin (Alex Russell’s Matt) and friend (Michael B. Jordan’s Steve) discover whatever this supernatural entity is.   After acquiring some strange abilities of their own, in time the boys also start sharing the same camera to record their thoughts and feelings too, thus beginning a bond so strong that eventually they start sensing each other’s feelings.  The camera also captures how their powers evolve and in turn, captures how they as people evolve with these gifts.  Or rather, how they gradually decline.  Andrew’s decline in to tragic disaster is the worst.

One thing we learn from Chronicle, is that bullying is still rife.  And for some, like Andrew, there is no way to turn.  By the time he has some semblance of a support system, he has already been damaged beyond help.  Chronicle showed us one possible outcome of bullying albeit with a supernatural twist.  But there really was no difference between what Andrew does in the final act and what happens when a damaged teen is given a gun.  In every scenario you can think of, many lives are destroyed.

Above all the many lessons Chronicle teaches, whether intentional or not, is that with great power comes great responsibility.  Matt is the first to realise that responsibility. However, with an abusive father (Michael Kelly) and a terminally ill mother (Bo Petersen) and the various bullies at school, Andrew was bound to abuse his powers eventually.  And from the moment he does, we all know he’s doomed.  What we don’t know is whether Matt and Steve are will also join in his fate.

In conclusion, Chronicle will depress you.  But it will also inform and keep you on the edge of your seats.  In short, go see this if you’re broad minded and want something different.  Don’t go see it if you can’t handle depression.