A friend of mine once asked me a question months ago about the influence of power. He asked "if power actually makes people change or it just simply removes that restraint stopping people from showing who they truly are". I thought about it long and hard but still could not think of a good answer for that question until recently when I stumbled on an old gem I had on my "to watch list" for years which brushed around the theme of power, this is none other than the science fiction film known as CHRONICLES.
Chronicles tells the story of three friends ; Andrew, Steve and Matt and how one major event changed the entire shape of their lives. The movie starts off with Andrew- a socially awkward teenager with an abusive father, an extremely sick mother who loves making videos with his camera. Andrew gets invited to a party by his cousin Matt where together with a friend (Steve) decide to go investigate a mysterious cave in the ground not too far from the party.
With the camera in hand, all three friends come in contact with an alien crystal underground which ends up changing their lives. They wake up the next morning to discover that they've all gained telekinetic powers ( the ability to move objects with their mind).
The three boys bonded over their newly found powers and an unexpected friendship blossomed. They practiced using their abilities, played pranks on people, recorded themselves doing all these things until eventually discovering that they can also use their powers to fly as well. The beauty of this story is that while they all received the same type of ability, their approach towards it differed exponentially. Steve remains centered about it without letting the powers change his life, Matt chose to be the moral compass in the group going as far as setting ground rules for how it is used and Andrew - he spends every single day finding new ways to use them, getting slowly consumed by it.
Life continues normally for the lads or as normal as it can get for kids with superpowers. Andrew enters a talent competition in school which he ends up wooing the entire while Matt records his performance. Andrew's popularity skyrockets and he lands himself a girl but he inevitably messes it up when he vomits on her during the course of intimacy. Embarrassed he flares at Steve but that doesn't spell the end of it because the very next day, he becomes the laughing stock for the entire school. Angered by this he uses his powers to violently pull out the teeth of a boy laughing right in from of him. He storms back home and begins justifying his actions with law of natural selection( where the strong takes control). Things continue to take a downturn for him as he gets into a scuffle with his father who tries to hurt him. Andrew fights back this time and gains the upper hand because of his powers, he warns him never to do that again before storming out of the house to clear his head.
Steve flies to meet up floating in the clouds and as he tries to calm him down right in the middle of a lightning storm. Unable to control himself, Andrew accidentally causes a lightning to strike Steve killing him in the process. A burial for Steve is organized almost immediately with friends and family all around grieving. Matt is able to put 2 & 2 together and somehow realizes that Andrew is responsible for Steve's date. Matt confronts Andrew about it but he shows no remorse about his questionable actions. Matt tries to have it out with him but since Andrew is stronger than him, Matt flies away disappointed.
Andrew life's continues to spiral downhill when his mother's health deteriorate even further and since he is unable to foot her medical bills, he turns to a life of crime which inevitably puts him in a hospital bed.
He wakes up during his treatment and tries to kill his father by dropping him from the top floor of the hospital but Matt rushes to the scene and saves him. Andrew loses it and goes on a destruction spree blaming everybody for everything going on in his life while Matt tries to stop him. The two brawl for a while with Andrew having the upper hand a large portion of the fight. Left with no choice as Andrew is on the brink of destroying the city, Matt uses his powers to force a spear through Andrew's stomach killing him in the process. The film ends with Matt going to a temple deep within the mountains to rediscover himself and salvage what's left of his life.
Chronicles starts out as a traditional super hero movie centered on three teenagers superpower discovery and how they try to navigate their life. It however shifts drastically from what are used to and shows what happens when someone who has always felt weak all his life finally gets the power to do what he wants. Andrew was never the villain of the story, he is just victim of a cruel world and choice a path that ultimately lead to his down.
I hope y'all give the movie a try and maybe just maybe we'll be able to answer the question surrounding the complexities of power... Thank you.
Rating - I'll give the movie a 7.9/10
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