I’m always cautious of ‘Must sees’. I’m a great believer in reserving judgement till you actually see something and not always for in a good way, sometimes you can go expecting the world and be given something a bit wishy washy.
So it was with great trepidation that I embarked on a cinema trip to see ‘Chronicle’ based on the review of Ryan Lambie (follow him on Twitter, he’s funny and knows his films) from Den of Geek who said it was “the first must see of 2012”.
‘Chronicle’ is the story of Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) who is virtually friendless save for his cousin Matt (Alex Russell). When Matt talks Andrew into coming to a rave with him, the pair, along with future class president and all round Mr Popular Steve (Michael B Jordan), investigate a hole in the ground near to where the rave is. The three guys, after their encounter with a large glowing (presumably extra-terrestrial) entity in the hole, discover they have telekinetic powers.
The ‘found footage’ genre has felt like old hat over the past few years but I think ‘Chronicle’ used it quite successfully. The fact that Andrew documents everything on his camera prior to going into the hole means that it’s not too much of a leap of faith for the audience when he starts documenting their new found abilities. Also the fact the boys can levitate the camera with their telekinesis means that Josh Trank effectively solves the problem of ‘who’s holding the camera?’ when we can see all three characters at once. There is a moment towards the end where we’re lead to believe that all the footage is being filmed on people’s phones and the suspension of my disbelief would have been pushed to the limit had I not been thoroughly engrossed in the film by this point.
I really like the script. The characters talk in a believable way, none of the dialogue seems contrived. This is down to Max Landis (yes… son of John) so snaps for him.
There is a definite shift in tone. The first half of the film is a lot lighter, the bits about using their newly acquired powers to make Lego towers (what else would you POSSIBLY want to use them for?!?!) and stuff like that are fun and quite sweet and very ‘buddy movie’. After the house party scenes the tone shifts and, like a boulder down a hill, builds momentum to a massive, ‘let’s throw all we’ve got at it’ finish. I really enjoyed the OTT madness of it. I think the two halves work quite well on their own, but they don’t gel particularly well together. It was a bit like going over a speed bump, we were going fine, then a little wobble and then it was fine again.
As an idea (teenagers get superpowers), it’s not the most original one in the world, it’s how they tackle it that is so good. American teen stereotypes are all present and correct, the introverted loner, the school bully, the effortlessly cool popular guy, but they interact in a way that is really quite true to life, these are characters that could conceivably exist.
A lot of what’s enjoyable about the film is the way the three lead characters interact. DeHaan, Russell and Jordan make a nice trio that I genuinely thought could be friends. In fact one moment when Matt says he thinks a day might have been the best one of his life got me a little bit choked! With it being Andrew’s story DeHaan gets the most screen time and he does make him a very sympathetic character. I felt so bad for him, which is another thing that sets ‘Chronicle’ apart, there’s a blurring of protagonist and antagonist which makes it a nicely morally ambiguous film. Matt and Andrew’s relationship rings very true but what interested me the most was the relationship between Andrew and Steve; I think that was done really well.
This is a lovely surprise of a film; I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s not like I thought I was going to hate it but it was no where near as cliché ridden as it could have been. I’ve not even mentioned the budget! It cost $15 million and it’s already made over $95 million back and I think it’s a darn sight better than a lot of big budget films that tackle similar subject matter. This is also Trank’s debut and by this standard he may well be one to watch for the future. ‘Chronicle’ is thoroughly entertaining, strangely realistic (considering the subject matter) and at 83 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I highly recommend it :-)
Now I fancy some…
Reasons to be Cheerful
1. A little know bash called the Oscars happened the other night. It was hardly full of surprises but in case you wanted to know, click here to see a full list of winners. I’m really pleased for ‘Rango’ but at the same time sad for ‘
2. But anyway… Oscars Schmoscars! Here at ‘Nerdy Rachel May’, I’m all about the Kermodes! I make no bones about it, I love the Good Doctor Kermode and agree with the vast majority of his opinions, none more so than the recipient of his ‘Best Actor Award’. See if you think his choices were better than the Academy’s (FYI the correct answer is ‘yes’).
3. Karen Gillan has been talking about her exit from Doctor Who. Gillan says it’s “the best ever” and I hope it is. I really love Amy and Rory and I will not be happy unless they are given a proper send off! Just as long as Rory DOESN’T die!
4. Series 3 of ‘Horrible Histories’ is now available for pre-order! You may have read that ‘Horrible Histories’ was my top telly pick of 2011 and this is that series over which I could not heap enough praise. Series 1 and 2 are RIDICULOUSLY cheap on Amazon so if you don’t want to take the plunge, get them first but I can assure you, you’ll love it :-)
5. ‘Kick Ass 2’is set to start shooting this summer. I adore ‘Kick Ass’ and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see those characters again :-) The future of the sequel was thought to be uncertain because Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, the team behind the original, couldn’t commit to making it. This fact does scare me somewhat. I mean it might be fine but Vaughn and Goldman got it so right in the first film… I have my reservations. But, fingers crossed it’ll all be ok!
That’s all from me today!
Goodbye till next time :-)
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