28 year-old Josh
Trank employs the omnipresent found footage gimmick, brought to new light by
The Blair witch Project and popularized by Paranormal Activity, in his
directorial debut Chronicle. Not only is he keen on using it uniquely, going
for a superhero film (as opposed to horror), he uses it wisely. The outcome of
his efforts is the most realistic Superhero movie to date.
Trank doesn’t go
too hard on establishing realism or creating suspense. He takes it in his
stride. Everything falls into place organically. And realism establishes itself
automatically. But that doesn't let Trank doesn’t scrimp on his characters. Within less than an
hour of screen-time, we see the three leads progress through an adventurous
journey. One of them, Andrew, is newer than his comrades to such a journey and
it initiates major changes to his psyche.
Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is an
introverted kid dealing with bullies at school, a drunken father at home and a
dying mother at the hospital. He’s all alone in this forsaken life of his. To distance
himself from it and see it through the eyes of an outsider, he decides to film
his life events. Andrew’s cousin, Matt (Alex Russell), invites him half-willingly to a rave party
spread with hot chicks and glow sticks. Andrew brings his camera along. He
eventually strays off by himself outside. Steve (Michael B.Jordan), the popular kid at high
school, walks up to him, ecstatically urging him to film something that he and
Matt have discovered. What happens here turns their lives around inevitably,
particularly Andrew’s. I don’t want to be a killjoy. So I’m going to let you
find out for yourself. You’ll agree that Chronicle is one of the year’s best.
Rating- 9/10
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