Film: Chronicle

"Boys will be boys" the poster says. Do you ever wonder what it was like to be a teenager? What are the youth of today really like? What are they really dealing with? Is there any hope for them? Society sends a lot of messages, both negative and positive, but one thing is for sure: it's a difficult time of life. Mostly I figure it's about the same as it was for me, but I find I don't quite remember what that was. Chronicle takes on the task of reminding us.

The story is told in a unique way, fitting well with that task. Take a superhero creation story, add some real-life, teenage drama, focus on the misunderstood self-destructive recluse, and throw in some J.J. Abrams style first-person shakey-cam with some serious urban destruction a la Cloverfield and you've got Chronicle. However it also takes the supernatural and makes it real, both in the environment and within the characters.

A film that kind of flew under the radar, I didn't know much about Chronicle going in other than that it was about teenagers stumbling upon super powers and that it had garnered a decent response from critics (85% on Rotten Tomatoes). Once it began the style was set immediately. Most of the story is told through the handheld camera of Andrew, a reclusive high school senior whose only real friend is his cousin Matt. Andrew takes the camera wherever he goes, despite the questions and taunts of others. Any social interaction takes place through the camera lens.

You quickly get a feel for Andrew's situation. His mother is seriously sick with some sort of respiratory disease. His dad is an abusive and angry drunk no longer able to work that blames his problems on others. No one is reaching out to Andrew and he isn't really reaching back. The exception being his cousin Matt, who we are to understand is more or less a "normal" teen. Matt persuades Andrew to come to a rave, but the issue of the camera comes up. "I'm just saying... maybe you shouldn't take a camera to the party," says Matt. Andrew is unfazed. Later that night it becomes convenient he did as we follow them out in the woods where Andrew, Matt, and another boy, Steve, stumble upon something in the forest which has an odd effect on them.

Telekinesis. At least that's one definition suggested. Basically the three of them realize they can now move, bend, and control physical objects. They start small pelting each other with objects in the back yard, and, like any group of boys, start getting curious. Things begin to escalate. They try out pranks like moving someone's shopping cart... and then their car. Andrew's camera follows providing a chronicle (get it... they call the genre found footage) of it all.

It's like a muscle which grows stronger as they exercise it. Andrew is especially gifted, and thrives on the friendship and encouragement of his two new buddies. The only physical side affect seems to be a nose bleed now and then. Soon they can fly. They take some serious risks. They have a lot of fun and become close, spending all their time together. Andrew seems to be doing well and may even become popular. Steven, who becomes his best friend, is a grounding influence on him, seeing things in Andrew others never had. Trials ensue and Andrew has a hard time dealing with them. Trials lead to tragedies and Matt finds himself trying to set boundaries while Andrew seems only to be breaking them.

Chronicle provides an impressively accurate exploration of the psyche of the teenage boy. Yes they have a tendency towards curiosity that often turns into chaos (in this case the chaos is extreme), but there is also a desire to be accepted and to find an honest outlet for friendship and feelings. This all comes to a head as Andrew draws deeper into the darker recesses of his character lashing out at those around him, breaking Matt's rules along the way.

The young filmmakers, Director Josh Trank (27) and Writer Max Landis (26) - this is the first major project for both - use the supernatural to take this understanding of the reality of youth to its extreme. The characters' newfound power becomes representative of the raw and brilliant potential of youth. At its basest that translates into a metaphor for puberty, but it's really about learning to navigate the growing process in becoming an adult. In the final scene Trank and Landis show this at its best, telling us there is hope in the rising generation but that maturity sometimes comes at a cost.