Chronicle

Chronicle –  Three teenage boys discover a strange entity underground which mysteriously gives them super powers. While they get more powerful every day and, like typical teenagers, enjoy every moment of their new abilities, one of them struggles to overcome his difficult home life. When his behaviour begins to spiral out of control, can the other two help him before tragedy strikes?

Chronicle (2012) – Director: Josh Trank

Rating: 12

Running Length: 84 mins

Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan

Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Thriller

REVIEW: ‘CHRONICLE’

Superhero movies have been a Hollywood staple for decades and bringing any fresh ideas to this over-done genre would always be a difficult task so ‘Chronicle’s’ focus on a deeply damaged young man and the effects that his sudden super powers have on him is a welcome, thought-provoking take. The young man in question is Andrew (Dane DeHaan) who suffers in silence as his alcoholic father doles out what seems to be constant verbal and physical abuse and his mother’s ill-health deteriorates. He finds reprieve when his cousin, Matt (Alex Russell), and popular boy, Steve (Michael B. Jordan) create a close friendship with him over their newly acquired powers despite his home life dragging him down.

While Andrew’s predicament is easy to pity, it is a testament to DeHaan that he isn’t played as an entirely weak (and unbelievable) victim. On the surface, Andrew is a regular awkward teenager and even those closest to him do not realise what he is going through; he has his own strength but the sheer amount of abuse has too profound an effect on him to allow him to simply carry on. Being given superpowers only damages him further whereas with the other boys, it is a very positive thing. The superpowers themselves are conveniently broad so little time is spent working out who can do what and although enough time is given to show the boys practising and figuring their powers out, the pace is quite quick so as not to drag. The ending does resort to the typical CGI battle in the sky but thankfully it is not overlong and makes sense in context of what has happened before it. By choosing a ‘found footage’ style (where everything we see is presented as footage shot by one character or another – mostly by Andrew) the everyday nature of the downward spiral is engaging and fresh.

‘Chronicle’ could easily have become a self-indulgent, over long story with black and white motivations but instead, we are treated to a poignant insight into a young man’s suffering and the very real consequences of domestic violence. The superpowers may be far-fetched but they are a fitting representation of the struggle abuse victims have when put into a position of power themselves, often repeating the cycle of abuse against those who are weaker than them. To this end, ‘Chronicle’ is not a superhero movie or a teen drama, it is far more than that.

CONTENT: IS ‘CHRONICLE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie opens with a teenage boy, Andrew, focusing a camera at a mirror in his bedroom. He has a black eye and his father yells at him from the other side of the door and insists on being allowed into the boy’s room. Andrew tells him that he won’t let him in and says that it is 7am and his dad is drunk. This angers his father further and the door is either kicked or punched heavily, however the father does not get into the room. It is made clear from the very beginning that the Andrew is the victim of an abusive father.

When Andrew takes his camera to school, it is snatched by a group of bullies who mock Andrew. They turn the camera round and Andrew is seen to be held tightly in a headlock.

Due to Andrew refusing to let his father into his bedroom earlier in the movie, his father enters his room in a rage and punches Andrew in the side of the head, causing Andrew to fall to the floor. When Andrew gets up he is visibly shaken and upset by his father’s attack.

When Andrew and his cousin, Matt, attend a party, they see a teenage girl dancing. The camera focuses up and down her body but Andrew is quickly confronted by the girl’s boyfriend. He becomes angry and hits Andrew. Andrew then sits outside the party in tears.

A popular boy approaches Andrew and tells him Matt wants to see him. Andrew then follows this boy alone out into the woods and they come across Matt who has found a hole in the ground. While this is not sinister, parents may wish to cautious of kids being keen to trust someone they barely know.

The boys all enter the hole and come across a strange glowing object; they get very close to it; at first they are laughing and joking but there is a quick shot of one of the boys suddenly having a nose bleed before the scene ends.

After getting close to the strange object, the boys discover that they all have super powers. One turns on a leaf blower which he angles towards a group of girls, causing their skirts to be blown up. The scream and push their skirts down. One of the boys laughs and comments ‘We’re wearing black today!’ in reference to the girls’ underwear.

The boys play around with their powers and are a little mean-spirited with it. They see another teen boy who they presumably don’t know and attempt to pull the gum out of his mouth from a distance. Because they do not have full control, the man lurches as if he has been punched and is then slammed into some shelves. The boys are shocked but run away laughing.

When the boys are driving, they are followed by a car which get very close and repeatedly honks its horn. One of the boys comments ‘It’s just some redneck’. Andrew then uses his powers to push the car off the road, causing it to fall down a large hill. The boys all run down to see the damage and the car is upside down in a river, the driver is brought out, alive but bloodied and rushed to hospital. The other boys are angry that Andrew did this and Andrew is remorseful, saying he didn’t mean to do it.

The boys go to another party and Andrew talks to a girl. Later, someone asks where Andrew is and they are told ‘Andrew’s upstairs with the girl with the pink hair’, indicating that they are expected to be having sex. Shortly after this, the girl is seen to storm out of a room, calling Andrew a ‘weirdo’.

Andrew watches a spider crawling across the floor; he uses his powers to levitate it and then rips all its legs off at once.

Andrews dad is shown snooping around Andrew’s room as his son screams for him to help his sick mother who can be heard coughing and crying out in pain. After this, their is an argument between the two that turns violent, resulting in the dad punching Andrew and Andrew fighting back by using his powers to throw him against walls and around the room.

Andrew ends up in hospital, covered in bandages and is seemingly unconscious. His dad openly blames him for the death of a loved one. He tells Andrew to apologise (even though the boy is comatose) and screams in his face.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘CHRONICLE’ FOR KIDS?

‘Chronicle’ may not be the most exciting superhero film around but it is thought-provoking and sensitive around its difficult subject matter. Due to several violent scenes which often depict domestic violence, we recommend ‘Chronicle’ for ages 12 and up.

• Violence: 3/5 (Andrew becomes increasingly dangerous as the movie progresses. A character pulls out the tooth of a bully by using their telekinetic powers, blood is briefly shown around their mouth. The abuse Andrew suffers at the hands of his father is often intense but not prolonged. However it does appear to be a constant reality for Andrew. A character is impaled by a large spear. A character attacks and robs several men and uses violence to subdue them. Some blood is shown)
• Emotional Distress: 2/5 (an established character is killed in an accident when they are trying to help someone)
• Fear Factor: 2/5
• Sexual Content: 2/5
• Bad Language: 2/5 (some infrequent blasphemy and cursing)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (Teen boys discussing their sex life, one says ‘I haven’t had sex since summer!’ and another says ‘I haven’t had sex since ever!’ A character gets a nose bleed and calls it a ‘face period’)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of domestic violence, the effects domestic violence has on children, friendship, the need to belong and be accepted, uncontrolled anger, the feeling of helplessness, the hunger for power over others and making difficult decisions.

Words by Laura Record

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