Chronicle is a 2012 American found footage superhero thriller film directed by Josh Trank with a screenplay by Max Landis from a story they both co-wrote. It follows three Seattle high school seniors, bullied Andrew (Dane DeHaan), his cousin Matt (Alex Russell), and more popular Steve (Michael B. Jordan), who form a bond after gaining telekinetic powers from an unknown object and using them for fun, although Andrew begins going down a darker path.
TRAILER
PLOT
Seattle teenager Andrew Detmer is bullied at school and abused by his alcoholic father Richard, while also coping with his mother Karen's battle with cancer. His only friend is his cousin, Matt Garetty. Inspired by Matt's on-and-off girlfriend Casey, Andrew buys a camera to create a video diary about his life.
Matt invites Andrew to a party to help him mingle, but he leaves after his filming causes an altercation with another attendee. Popular student Steve Montgomery approaches Andrew and asks him to record a large hole he and Matt discovered in the woods. The three journey down the hole where they discover a glowing crystalline object. The object suddenly begins to react violently, and the camera shorts out.
A few days later, Andrew, Matt, and Steve have developed telekinetic abilities, though they suffer nosebleeds when they overexert themselves. Unable to revisit the hole after it is closed off by police, they start using their abilities to play pranks on people, but it goes too far when Andrew telekinetically pushes a rude motorist off the road into a nearby pond. Steve manages to save the man from drowning, but Matt insists they restrict the use of their powers, particularly against living beings.
After Steve discovers they have the ability of flight, they agree to fly around the world together following graduation, with Andrew in particular desiring to visit Tibet. Steve convinces Andrew to use his powers for a magic act in the school talent show, which impresses their peers. Andrew relishes his newfound popularity at a house party, but the night ends in disaster when he drunkenly vomits on a classmate he intended to have sex with, and Steve accidentally offends him while trying to lighten the mood.
Richard confronts Andrew after finding his camera. In the ensuing argument, Richard attacks Andrew, who retaliates by using his powers against Richard before fleeing the house. Andrew flies out into the middle of a lightning storm, and Steve follows to console him. Becoming increasingly frustrated as Steve refuses to leave, Andrew unintentionally uses his powers to fatally strike Steve with lightning. When questioned by Matt at Steve's funeral, Andrew denies responsibility for the incident, but later privately begs for forgiveness at Steve's grave.
Andrew is once again ostracized at school following the incident at the party. After telekinetically ripping teeth from a bully's mouth, Andrew begins to identify as an apex predator and rationalizes that he should not feel guilty for using his powers to hurt those weaker than him. Desperate to pay for his mother's treatment, Andrew disguises himself with his father's firefighter gear and uses his powers to rob a gang and a gas station, inadvertently causing an explosion that puts him in the hospital and police custody. At his bedside, a distraught Richard informs an unconscious Andrew that Karen has died after Richard had spent the day searching for him. Blaming Andrew for Karen's death, Richard prepares to strike him, but Andrew abruptly awakens and violently blows out the wall of the room.
Matt experiences a severe nosebleed and realizes Andrew is in trouble after seeing a news alert about a mysterious explosion downtown. He and Casey head to the hospital to find Andrew unleashing his rage all over downtown, too blinded by anger to realize he is hurting innocent people. Matt fights Andrew, crashing through buildings, hurling vehicles, and landing at Space Needle while the police surround them. Matt tries to reason with Andrew, but the latter violently injures him before threatening other bystanders. Realizing that Andrew is beyond help, Matt reluctantly impales him with a spear from a nearby statue and flies away before the police can reach him.
Sometime later, Matt lands in Tibet with Andrew's camera. He films one last video where he apologizes to Andrew, vows to use his powers for good, and promises to discover the truth about what happened to them. He points the camera at a Tibetan monastery in the distance before flying away, leaving the camera behind.
Rating: 10 Stars
