The film “Chronicle,” one of the brand new films to come out in 2012, and uses the hand held camera technique like “The Blair Witch Project”. However, this film reinvents what this kind of genre of film can do, and it really pays off because of it. “Chronicle” tells the story of three teenage seniors in high school: Andrew, played by Dane DeHaan, a social outcast with a dying mother, abusive father and a fascination with video cameras. Matt, played by Alex Russell, a popular senior and Andrew’s cousin; Finally, there is Steve, played by Michael Jordan, fellow popular senior and running senior president. One night, when all three go to a dance, they discover a stone that fell out of the sky, and the next day, they awake with telekinetic abilities.
Because of the telekinetic abilities these three obtain, the hand held cameras are able to move around to great effect. Andrew uses the camera to not only show these angles, but to improve his powers. One of the greatest strengths this film has is how it treats its concept. In most big studio films, we already see the outcome of these powers and only get flash backs leading up to someone becoming the way they do. Because we see scenes of them acting normal and then goofing around with these powers, the viewer feels like a part of the action. From them learning to lift items and learning to fly, the viewer is right along for the ride, the powers don’t come out of nowhere; the viewer learns at the same time they do.
Another one of the films great strengths is how it treats its teenage main stars. Most movies treat teenage boys like morons who are only interested in beer and girls; this is not the case in this film. They talk about girls a few times, but they mainly act like human beings and not stereotypes. Andrew is the highlight of the main cast, as he goes through ups and downs when having his newfound friends. When Andrew turns to the darker side of his powers, there isn’t a feeling of hatred like most other movies. Because the viewer has watched his development, there is this feeling of wanting to cry for him.
This film also has a great way of building up tension and keeping you on the edge of your seat. There is a moment in the film which felt an awful lot like “Carrie”, but it changes it to make an effective fake out. The climax is one of best in recent cinema, which would make big studios blush with how inventive portable cameras are used and how everything comes into play is something of pure genius. If there is anything bad to say about this film, it is one single nitpick. There is a female character name Casey, played by Ashley Hinshaw, who really doesn’t add much to the overall film. That isn’t to say she is a bad character, though; it’s just to say there really isn’t a point to her. It’s like finding a onion ring in your French fries; you can either throw it out and enjoy the rest of the fries or just count it as a little bonus.
Overall, this is a spectacular film which can compete with big studio films in terms of not only good acting but brilliant special effects as well. Count the chump change budget of 15 million dollars, in film terms of course, to that and you have a film that not only reinvented an old idea but an old gimmick too.