jamesq | The Dark Side of Super Fantasies

So I just got back from watching Chronicle, which I had not even heard of until about an hour before curtain time. I saw a very brief description of the movie (Three teens gain superpowers) and the fact that it was getting much better reviews than you'd think based on that premise. I was looking at an evening in front of the television anyway, so I figured I'd just go and have a look. The worst that could have happened was wasting two hours.

Chronicle was really really good. I was worried when I saw that this was a so-called "found footage" film (like The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield). I really dislike them as a story-telling medium. The footage is by one of the protagonists, who has decided to film his life, and if that was all we saw, my fears would be realised. Chronicle gets around all the things I hate about found footage films, first by introducing a secondary character who also videotapes her life, and later by using security tapes, cell phone video and all the other videography that is ubiquitous in today's world. It is probably the best filmed movie using this technique, precisely because it can use "found video" from multiple sources. Especially the extended action sequences at the end. The director and editor did a spectacular job.

Anyway go see it, you'll enjoy it a lot more than The Phantom Menace 3D.

Still here? Ok, let's go.

I've read superhero comics my whole life. My second biggest fantasy is to have superpowers, and not just any superpower either - I always wanted massive amounts of telekinesis coupled with a fine degree of control over the same. I'd fly around, throw objects with my mind and basically have a great time with it while simultaneously using it to help people. When the protagonists of Chronicle got telekinesis as their power (I had no idea what they were going to get before sitting down - I guessed super strength and invulnerability), I was really happy - especially when they started doing exactly the sort of experimenting with the powers that I would. It didn't take them long to use them to fly for example.

Anyway, the main character, Andrew is the one who does the best with his powers. He revels in them and does the most to expand his TK strength. There's a scene towards the end where he crumples a derelict car into a ball. Andrew is also the most messed up character - he has a horrible home life, is chronically shy and is bullied at school. Steve, a fellow TK-powered teen, convinces him to use his powers (disguised as magic tricks) to win the talent show and for one brief shining moment, Andrew is popular.

As a fellow victim of bullying with chronic shyness, I identified strongly with Andrew. When he started using his powers in negative ways, I was very quick to forgive him when I shouldn't have. When Andrew has a psychotic break, and starts going all Übermensch, I kept hoping that the third TK teen, Matt, would be able to save him from himself.

When Andrew yanked a tooth from each of his bullies, I was secretly pleased. The times I wished I had the powers precisely to put my bullies into their place are countless.

Towards the end of the movie I realized that I was identifying with the villain, and he was flying into "monster" territory at Mach speed. Not just that, but that if I were in Andrew's position, I wouldn't have acted much differently. I like to hope that if I got those powers as an adult, I'd be a little more responsible with them. Probably not though - the ghosts of childhood float just below the surface. It's probably a good thing superpowers don't exist in real life.