![Not long arrived home after seeing Chronicle at the cinema.
Spoilers.
Now, I love found footage films. Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity and [REC] are some of my favourite films. I went to this expecting the same, and, although I did really enjoy it I wasn’t completely won over, but only really because of its handling of the genre. But I don’t want to complain about it too much because it would be unfair on what is, especially as a directorial debut, an incredibly enjoyable film.
It looked fantastic. The effects were well handled, not too over-the-top or glamorous. It actually looked remarkably authentic, apart from a couple of awkward flying sequences, but they weren’t really that noticeable. I think the idea that the characters could control the cameras telekinetically did help make the job a little easier, allowing it to fall into wider long shots and two-shots where most found footage films are lumbered with an abundance of close-ups. The shifting between cameras, too, worked quite well. The only other film I’ve seen to do this is [REC]2, although this is a completely different style as perspective shifts in single scenes between different camera angles. Most of the time it worked, though sometimes it did feel a little unnecessary. The most awkward was probably in the somewhat unnecessary sub-plot between Matt and his crush, where her filming for her ‘blog’ means that she already has a camera switched on and poise to catch any conversation she had at her doorstep. Quite literally. I wouldn’t knock it though - particularly as the film grows, it’s interesting from both visual and narrative perspectives.
I do have some gripes with the use of cameras though. Am I the only person that found them a little anachronic? I spent the first half hour or so of the film convinced that it must be set in the late ’90s because of the sheer size of Andrew’s camera which he somehow manages to lug around with him all day every day. His motivation for filming didn’t quite outweigh the awkwardness of the camera. He then, later, remarks that his new camera (after his first is destroyed in the supernatural cave) doesn’t record to film and stores it ‘on the camera’, which I interpreted as him being impressed by a digital camcorder. Then, a few minutes later, they’re all sat on smartphones and tablets. Why wasn’t Andrew choosing to film his day on a tiny HD camera? It just felt a little out of place. The motivation for filming was all a little iffy. Especially the police in the hospital who leave the camera on ‘for the investigation’. Really? It was almost the stereotypical perspective that so many technologically illiterate people seem to have that all young people record every moment of their day to upload to YouTube. It stretched my suspension of disbelief, but most found footage films do that anyway, so I wasn’t overly irritated by it.
The acting was excellent, particularly from Dane DeHaan as Andrew. The character was very well fleshed out for such a short film, and did have a real tragedy about him. They captured a nice playfulness that was as funny as it was familiar. I thought it was a shame that they wrote Steve out quite so quickly and bashfully, but there was need for the narrative to progress. And progress it did.
I loved the building scale of how they developed their powers. There was humour and playfulness in the beginning before encroaching on the taboo and risqué, then building momentum so quickly that it draws attention to the despairing emotional state of Andrew, and, rather than preaching a superhero-esque ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ tale of morality, it just allows the audience to bear witness to how this enormously vulnerable character’s emotions intensify to the point that they almost collapse into a narcissistic nihilism and misanthropy.
Overall, I’m definitely recommending it as an easy watch. It’s not a moral tale or something that requires a massive amount of consideration. It doesn’t, regrettably almost, leave you wanting answers to the questions it hasn’t resolved, but it doesn’t necessarily need to. Perhaps it’s the natural progression of the found footage genre, which, we must admit, does need to be re-crafted and invented to steer away from some of the stigmas that we associate with it now. It’s fun, fast and familiar, but, equally, dark, tragic and remorseful. Give it a watch, even if it’s not your sort of thing, because I think it’s something everyone can enjoy.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzma4iFDMT1r2t3v0o1_1280.jpg)
Not long arrived home after seeing Chronicle at the cinema.
Spoilers.
Now, I love found footage films. Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity and [REC] are some of my favourite films. I went to this expecting the same, and, although I did really enjoy it I wasn’t completely won over, but only really because of its handling of the genre. But I don’t want to complain about it too much because it would be unfair on what is, especially as a directorial debut, an incredibly enjoyable film.
It looked fantastic. The effects were well handled, not too over-the-top or glamorous. It actually looked remarkably authentic, apart from a couple of awkward flying sequences, but they weren’t really that noticeable. I think the idea that the characters could control the cameras telekinetically did help make the job a little easier, allowing it to fall into wider long shots and two-shots where most found footage films are lumbered with an abundance of close-ups. The shifting between cameras, too, worked quite well. The only other film I’ve seen to do this is [REC]2, although this is a completely different style as perspective shifts in single scenes between different camera angles. Most of the time it worked, though sometimes it did feel a little unnecessary. The most awkward was probably in the somewhat unnecessary sub-plot between Matt and his crush, where her filming for her ‘blog’ means that she already has a camera switched on and poise to catch any conversation she had at her doorstep. Quite literally. I wouldn’t knock it though - particularly as the film grows, it’s interesting from both visual and narrative perspectives.
I do have some gripes with the use of cameras though. Am I the only person that found them a little anachronic? I spent the first half hour or so of the film convinced that it must be set in the late ’90s because of the sheer size of Andrew’s camera which he somehow manages to lug around with him all day every day. His motivation for filming didn’t quite outweigh the awkwardness of the camera. He then, later, remarks that his new camera (after his first is destroyed in the supernatural cave) doesn’t record to film and stores it ‘on the camera’, which I interpreted as him being impressed by a digital camcorder. Then, a few minutes later, they’re all sat on smartphones and tablets. Why wasn’t Andrew choosing to film his day on a tiny HD camera? It just felt a little out of place. The motivation for filming was all a little iffy. Especially the police in the hospital who leave the camera on ‘for the investigation’. Really? It was almost the stereotypical perspective that so many technologically illiterate people seem to have that all young people record every moment of their day to upload to YouTube. It stretched my suspension of disbelief, but most found footage films do that anyway, so I wasn’t overly irritated by it.
The acting was excellent, particularly from Dane DeHaan as Andrew. The character was very well fleshed out for such a short film, and did have a real tragedy about him. They captured a nice playfulness that was as funny as it was familiar. I thought it was a shame that they wrote Steve out quite so quickly and bashfully, but there was need for the narrative to progress. And progress it did.
I loved the building scale of how they developed their powers. There was humour and playfulness in the beginning before encroaching on the taboo and risqué, then building momentum so quickly that it draws attention to the despairing emotional state of Andrew, and, rather than preaching a superhero-esque ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ tale of morality, it just allows the audience to bear witness to how this enormously vulnerable character’s emotions intensify to the point that they almost collapse into a narcissistic nihilism and misanthropy.
Overall, I’m definitely recommending it as an easy watch. It’s not a moral tale or something that requires a massive amount of consideration. It doesn’t, regrettably almost, leave you wanting answers to the questions it hasn’t resolved, but it doesn’t necessarily need to. Perhaps it’s the natural progression of the found footage genre, which, we must admit, does need to be re-crafted and invented to steer away from some of the stigmas that we associate with it now. It’s fun, fast and familiar, but, equally, dark, tragic and remorseful. Give it a watch, even if it’s not your sort of thing, because I think it’s something everyone can enjoy.
