Characters / Chronicle

Chronicle

Andrew Detmer

Played By: Dane DeHaan

"A lion does not feel guilty when it kills a gazelle, right? You do not feel guilty when you squash a fly... and I think that means something. I just think that really means something."

• Abusive Parents: His father is extremely physically abusive, which is implied to have been going on for years as it's the impetus for Andrew setting up the camera in his room.
• Accidental Murder: Subverted; while it's implied he might've somehow accidentally caused the lightning bolt that killed Steve, which he is nonetheless horrified and guilt-ridden over, writer Max Landis has confirmed that it was a natural, freak-accident bolt that Andrew had no control over.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Matt is extremely reluctant to kill him, but does because he has to.
• Ax-Crazy: Post Face–Heel Turn and just gets worse from there. As he becomes an apocalyptic, homicidal, rage-filled monster.
• Berserk Button: If Andrew wants to be left alone, you'd best leave him the fuck alone.
• Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Downplayed; being bullied by school peers and abused by an alcoholic father isn't on fully equal footing with torture, but wreaks similar effects on Andrew's psyche.
• Butt-Monkey: Nothing seems to go his way. This goes extremely badly for everyone.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Sadly, this doesn't lead to any sort of improvement in the relationship between him and his father — it just makes things worse as a whole. Not that he didn't deserve to do it anyway, or that he did anything else on his part. His dad's just being too stubborn about himself.
• Car Fu: Throws a bus at Matt in the climax.
• Determinator: Nothing could stop him from going ape-shit across Seattle.
• Death by Irony: He called himself an apex predator, only to die by a spear, a hunter's weapon.
• Decoy Protagonist: Though the story focuses on his downfall, the hero is ultimately Matt.
• The Dog Bites Back: Fully unhinges and stops taking his old man's crap when his mother takes a turn for the worse.
• Don't Make Me Destroy You: How he threatens Matt, who sees the light and kills Andrew, but remains extremely guilt-ridden about it.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: Happens to him almost immediately as he enjoys his powers immensely from the first time he discovers he has them, but becomes the progress of his whole arc.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Though it's clear Andrew is becoming more and more detached from his humanity with the continued use of his power, his love for his mother never changes.
• Expy: Chronicle's frequent homages to AKIRA makes Andrew - a young man with a troubled personal life who loses his mind after obtaining telekinetic powers - a rather obvious counterpart for Tetsuo Shima.
• Freudian Excuse: When you have an alcoholic, pathetic mess as a father, who physically and emotionally abuses you even for the pettiest reasons, a neglectful cousin who keeps distance from you to save his face as much as he can, and have being bullied by jerks at school, it probably would take a toll on your mind.
• Freudian Trio: The unbalanced, impulsive, and miserable id who just tries to bring himself happiness or satisfaction.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From abused random teenager to super villain.
• The Heavy: He's not quite the Big Bad, as the story's plot isn't entirely his own fault, but he does become the major threat.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:How Matt kills him in the end of the movie.
• Implacable Man: He keeps going with his rampage over Seattle and the police force send against him is completely powerless in their attempts to stop or even hurt him.
• Kubrick Stare: See the photo above.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: His tormentors had it coming for the most part.
• Kick the Dog: He's still a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds but taking his anger out on the whole city that didn't abuse him like his father did was a dick move. So was ripping apart that spider just because he could as well as swiping the redneck's car into the lake, which prompts Matt to outline the rules.
• Leave Me Alone!: One of his Berserk Buttons is that he wants to be left alone whenever he experiences strong emotion.
• Loners Are Freaks: He was very much a loner at the beginning of the film and his constant filming made him seem a bit off.
• Madden Into Misanthropy: His eventual Start of Darkness; he genuinely loves his mom and tries not to upset his dad whenever he can, but after she dies, Steve dies, a girl at school laughs at him, and he gets bullied (including by his dad), he goes off the deep end.
• Made of Iron: Andrew goes through a lot of injuries and still gets back up to rampage.
• Mirror Character: With his father, Richard. Both eventually are revealed to be angry guys who feel powerless due to the amount of bad luck in their lives, which leads to Richard brutally beating him. Andrew tries to respond to this with kindness, but eventually ends up going mad and brutally killing hundreds of people in revenge and despair.
• Missing Mom: Subverted as she is barely seen throughout the movie. But she is confirmed to be dead by the end of the film.
• Narcissist: Andrew is a curious case with his always-rolling camera. What started as a way to keep his abusive father at bay gradually turns into the boy filming more and more of himself, all while he's slowly going down the Protagonist Journey to Villain. By the final, during his rampage over Seattle, he steals random cameras and have them circle around himself for the sake of filming all his stunts.
• No-Respect Guy: He's always treated with hatred or mockery by almost everybody except Steve and Matt which contributed to him Being Tortured Makes You Evil.
• No Social Skills: On one hand, he's extensively bullied by just about everyone. On the other, he is a shut-in even without that. Combined together, those two make Andrew have close to zero social competence - something that Steve tries to fix throughout the whole movie.
• Person of Mass Destruction: By the end of the movie his powers have developed to where he's become this.
• Psychopathic Manchild: In his ending rampage, he is essentially throwing a super powered temper tantrum.
• Screaming Warrior: Andrew roars his way across the city while fighting Matt. This proves to be a great weapon as he can crush anything and stop bullets.
• The Social Darwinist: As indicated by his quote, he develops the philosophy that it's the right of the strong to step on the weak.
• Spear Counterpart: To Carrie White, of Carrie and Carrie (1976). Both are badly abused teenagers with a single abusive parent - Carrie's father is dead while Andrew's mother is dying, and Andrew's father is physically abusive like Margaret White. Both are badly bullied outsiders in town who lack any sort of romantic or friendship connections (and the few connections they can form are cruelly thrown back at him) develop superpowers with which they use to fight back against their tormentors...and eventually everybody else.
• Super Supremacist: As he comes into his powers, he sees himself as an "apex predator" above normal humans.
• Teens Are Monsters: Arguably a poster boy example of why a teenager with super powers would be a bad thing.
• Took a Level in Badass: Gets stronger than the other two at using his powers.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: His life and death in a nutshell.
• Tragic Villain: The entire story shows his downfall, heartbreaking as it is even after he becomes a villain.
• Troubled Teen: Andrew's life consists of an extremely abusive alcoholic father and a terminally ill bedridden mother and is frequently bullied at school, not to mention everything else that happens to him throughout the film, giving him serious mental issues. The fact that Andrew decides to keep it all bottled up until hitting his Rage Breaking Point instead of reaching out to talk to someone about it doesn't help matters either, especially after he acquires his powers.
• Unskilled, but Strong: By the end of the film, it's clear that while he is very strong with his powers, his mental instability causes him to just randomly lash out with them, rather than use them strategically.
• Unstoppable Rage: He goes nuclear near the end of the film, and just gets worse to the point that he was nothing more than a human-shaped ball of destructive, mindless fury by the time Matt is forced to kill him.
• Villain Protagonist: The story encompasses his Slowly Slipping Into Evil Protagonist Journey to Villain.
• Walking Spoiler: Let's just say that what happens to him, in the end, is... unpleasant.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Deconstructed — Andrew was already mentally and emotionally unstable from the abuse he suffered from his father. The only reason why he became as unhinged as he did was because his father pushed him to the breaking point — his powers were simply a means of finally fighting back through which his instability fully manifested.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The poor kid could not just catch a break. From his abusive father to the harsh bullying he received in and outside of school and his dying mother. When he finally lets loose and becomes a wrathful beast of destruction you can't help but feel sorry for him.

Matt Garetty

"I can fly!"

Played By: Alex Russell

"I — I think if I apply myself, I could change the world."

• Barrier Warrior: Matt has an innate talent for using his powers defensively.
• Butt-Monkey: He's the slowest learner of the three when it comes to gaining control of his powers, and a lot of humor comes from his incompetence. The more dramatic side being that he fails to keep everyone and everything together, even by setting up the rules for their powers. It's implied he may now be on the run from the government.
• Ditzy Genius: Matt's incredibly well-read in philosophy and can quote Jung even while fairly drunk, but he comes across as a bit thick-headed and is the slowest learner in terms of using his telekinesis.
• Freudian Trio: The ego to Andrew's id and Steve's superego. While not as saintly as superego Steve, he mediates between them and after Steve's death, it falls to him to bring Andrew into line once and for all.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Said word for word at the end of the film.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Especially at the start of the movie.
• Manly Tears: Played with. In the climax, Matt is certainly not crying because of pain, he's crying because of what his cousin has become, and what he has to do. But it's certainly not dignified or badass.
• Nice Guy: He wasn't mean or anything at first, but he grows into this over the course of the film.
• No Social Skills: While Andrew is a more straightforward example of a shut-in that struggles to make connections with people, Matt, whilst outgoing is incredibly clumsy when trying to pick up Casey and the various dialogues imply he's bad at dating in general.
• Ordinary High-School Student: Arguably the entire point of the film, but Matt, lacking Andrew's Freudian Excuse or Steve's noble goals, fulfills it best.
• Save the Villain: He saved his abusive Evil Uncle Richard and tried to talk Andrew down from going on a rampage, until he is forced to resort to killing him like a mad dog to prevent more destruction.
• Sole Survivor: Of the three boys.
• Stalking is Love: It's implied he had a slight crush on Casey and was following Casey around to get her attention. Thankfully, he doesn't use his powers to his advantage with her when given the option.
• Virtuous Character Copy: Matt's role in the story as the antagonist's former friend and gang member who ultimately must step up and stop their rampage is, as the influence of AKIRA on the film indicates, clearly based on Shotaro Kaneda. However, while Kaneda was a drug dealer and gang leader who laughed about getting his girlfriend pregnant (and even then, the animated film only keeps the gang leader part), Matt is clumsy and actively tries to prevent things going the way they do by trying to impose rules on the group to keep them from acting immoral.
• Weak, but Skilled: Matt is consistently shown to be less talented than Steve or Andrew when it comes to getting a hold of his powers. But what he lacks in talent, he makes up for in his ability to use what little he does know (about his powers, the surrounding environment, even his innate ability to protect himself as a reflex) to his advantage and ultimately one-up Andrew at the climax of the film.
• You Can't Go Home Again: After killing Andrew, he is forced to leave Casey and Seattle behind in order to escape government captivity.

Steve Montgomery

Played By: Michael B. Jordan

• The Ace: Steve is kind, very popular, a jock, and does well in school.
• Big Man on Campus: Likely because of his looks and that he is nice to everyone.
• Black Dude Dies First: The first of the super powered friends to die.
• Broken Ace: At least part of his cheerfulness is just a facade. In reality, he's devastated by his parents failing marriage and incoming divorce, something he only ever opens about to Andrew. He tolls under the pressure of that and pretending to still be that Lovable Jock everyone knows.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Nice guy that he is, he's a bit of a perv, considering how he talks about his girlfriend, the fact he used his powers to make a Panty Shot, and tried to catch on film Andrew losing his virginity. He's not a creep about it though.
• Death by Irony: The very promising Steve dies after falling from a great height.
• Hidden Depths: In an extended scene, he reveals his own troubled home life, that he keeps quiet about because he doesn't want people to know about it.
• Lovable Jock: Even to begin with, he's one of the nicest people in the film, barring his Superdickery.
• Nice Guy: A very good example as he is one of the kindest souls in the movie as he's surrounded by Jerkasses and an unstable teen. He even takes a liking to Andrew who is a loner and a nerd to help him gain some confidence.
• Sacrificial Lion: His death begins the truly horrific downward spiral of the teens' lives.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Steve's only goal is to try and help everyone else out and keep things calm and fun, helping Andrew to get out of his shell and comforting him. He gets killed after trying to do this in mid-air.

Richard Detmer

Played By: Michael Kelly

• Abusive Parent: Takes his frustrations out by beating up his son.
• Alcoholic Dad: He's an Abusive Dad with a serious drinking problem. Beer bottles are scattered around his house and at one point, Andrew mentions that Richard spends most of his days at bars.
• Asshole Victim: In the original script, he would have faced the same unpleasant fate as the spider after finally pushing Andrew over the deep end. In the final film, Andrew still tries to make one of him by dropping him to his death, but he is saved by his nephew Matt, therefore this trope is subverted.
• Ax-Crazy: His abuse towards Andrew make him look more unhinged.
• Bait the Dog: For a moment it seems like he's about to show some genuine softness towards Andrew when he comes to him crying in the hospital. But no, he's crying because his wife, Andrew's mother, died and he blames Andrew for it.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Acts as a Big Bad for the first and second acts of the film, but it's ultimately the son he abused who becomes an actual threat. His actions are also a little too direct for him to count as a Greater-Scope Villain either.
• The Bully: To his own son.
• Bullying a Dragon: Bullies the clearly super powered Andrew, even after learning about it. Granted he thought he'd caught him while defenseless, but misjudged, badly...
• Crazy Jealous Guy: The trope that involves family love rather then the typical lovers' love. Aside from abusing Andrew to vent out his frustrations, it's possible Richard also abuses Andrew out of jealousy for his wife expressing more love towards Andrew than to Richard.
• Cruel Mercy: See Karma Houdini below.
• Dirty Coward: Andrew quickly reverts him to one the moment he reveals his powers to him. He takes it up a notch when he turns on Andrew again later... while he's unconscious in a hospital bed. It still backfires on him, to the point he can be heard begging for Andrew's mercy.
• Drowning My Sorrows: As a result of his early retirement and his wife's illness.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Genuinely loves his wife and grieves for her death. However, exactly how much he loves her is questionable, given how rarely we see him spend time with her, rather than, you know, getting drunk. There's also the scene where his wife is screaming in pain, and his son is shouting for help in finding her medicine, but Richard gives absolutely no heed. Instead, he's ransacking his son's room, presumably for beer money. However, if it's true he does love his wife, it's possible Richard abuses Andrew out of very twisted jealousy.
• Evil Uncle: Played with. He's Matt's uncle and Andrew's Abusive Dad, but other than being saved by Matt, there is no other indication of he and Matt having interacted beforehand.
• Fallen Hero: He used to be a firefighter.
• Green-Eyed Monster:
  • Possibly abusing his son not just to vent out his stress and pass blame for his issues from himself, but also out of vindictive jealousy for his dying wife showing more visible love towards Andrew then to Richard. Also see Crazy Jealous Guy above.
  • Also, when Andrew attends a talent show where he becomes temporarily popular, Richard also seems vindictively jealous of Andrew proactively trying to find his happiness, which contradicts a previous scene before that one where Mrs. Detmer encourages Andrew to find his happiness by attending the talent show.
  Richard: All right. You know what? You're lying. You're up to something, and you can't hide it. You think you can just slink? Hmm? Sneaking, sneaking around my house, smiling? I'm onto your shit.
• Hate Sink: He's a hateful prick who spends most of the film as a repugnant Abusive Parent and a more cathartic target of Andrew's rampage and villainy. He shows no remorse on abusing Andrew.
• Hated by All: His current attitude and position implies that nobody treats him with any more, if not less respect than with Andrew (and probably wouldn't).
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Gets mad pretty easily.
• Irrational Hatred: Of his own son Andrew. The abuse he puts him through is suspiciously excessive.
• Jealous Parent: He is a Selfish type who abuses his son Andrew, while the only one he loves was his bed ridden wife, which Andrew loves too and in turn his mother loves him back. It is implied the reason Richard abuses Andrew other than to use him as a stress vent to pass out his financial problems onto him was out of alcohol-induced jealousy of Andrew being more loved by his wife than him, while the way he abuses Andrew can have him come across as an absolutely Crazy Jealous Guy and a Yandere. When Richard learns Andrew attends a talent show and a party and that his son has powers which he uses to overpower the former from abusing him, Richard's jealousy of his son upgrades to being jealous of his son trying to find his own happiness and improve his life then Richard and the fact Andrew is a more powerful being then him, finally culminating in Richard attempting to strike Andrew at the hospital after the death of his wife which Richard proceeds to blame Andrew for (likely for Andrew "stealing" all of his wife's love away from Richard before her passing, while leaving him out), only to earn Andrew's wrath. Also, see Crazy Jealous Guy and Green-Eyed Monster above.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When Richard comes to see an injured Andrew in the hospital, he starts crying by his bedside. Seems like he actually feels bad about what happened to his son. We then find out he's crying because Andrew's mom died, and proceeds to blame Andrew for it.
• Karma Houdini: Downplayed, only in the sense that he makes it out of the film alive. While it may seem like a slap on the wrist, getting a nasty beating and nearly killed by his own son is sure to have given him a real shock. There's also the fact his wife is dead, his abusive treatment of Andrew is out in the open and at the end of it all, he's still a miserable, alcoholic loser. With evidence of his abuse being filmed and recorded in the emergency room, seen in the overall Found Footage and the police's camcorder, Richard is most likely going to be arrested for child abuse, which also indirectly caused the damage Andrew made to Seattle as a result. And considering how parents of school shooters or spree terrorists are frequently doxxed and harassed, he's now going to be known as the man who raised a real-life supervillain, meaning his life is pretty much over. So he didn't get off completely scot-free.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Andrew starts fighting back. He was nearly killed by his own son is sure to have given him a real shock. There's also the fact his wife is dead, his abusive treatment of Andrew is out in the open and at the end of it all, he's still a miserable, alcoholic loser. With evidence of his abuse being filmed and recorded in the emergency room, seen in the overall Found Footage and the police's camcorder, Richard is most likely going to be arrested for child abuse, which also indirectly caused the damage Andrew made to Seattle as a result. He'll be alone and now going to become a pariah for what has done. He's lost everything. He's now going to be known as the man who raised a real-life supervillain, meaning his life is pretty much over. So he didn't get off completely scot-free.
• Lower-Class Lout: His alcoholism, abusive parenting and disheveled appearance would qualify him as such.
• Noodle Incident: It was never stated how Richard was injured and eventually what caused him to quit, as that by the time this film was set, he seems to be physically functioning fine aside from his alcoholism and being abusive towards Andrew.
• Outliving One's Offspring: While we don't see him after his nephew Matt saves him from falling to his death, the fact remains that his only son Andrew is now dead at the end of the movie; and just days after his wife had already died.
• Pyrrhic Victory: If one were to assume he actually wanted to get rid of Andrew by the end, he still also lost his wife, and will likely be exposed for his part in all the destruction Andrew ultimately caused.
• Psychopathic Manchild: All his behaviour was in the end was acting out in simple jealousy and spite, and even before this comes out, his reasons are hopelessly banal.
• The Unfavorite: See Crazy Jealous Guy above.
• Troubled Abuser: Despite his despicable behavior, it's pretty clear that he suffers from severe mental issues. It's implied that he was a much better husband and father before he lost his job and his wife fell ill.
• Very Punchable Man: It's pretty easy to root for Andrew when the target of his rampage is his abusive dad.
• Yandere: Possibly abuses Andrew for stealing all the attention of his bedridden wife from him.
• You're Not My Father: If Andrew during the basement confrontation addressing him as "Richard" instead of "dad" is any indication.

Casey Letter

Played By: Ashley Hinshaw

• Nice Girl: She's nice to everyone and this is part of the reason Matt wants her.
• Satellite Love Interest: She is notable in that being a Satellite Love Interest was a cover for her actual role in the film; to provide another camera for the film's Found Footage style. Ironically, she clearly has more depth than he does near the start, and they seem to have some offscreen development of their relationship.

Monica

Played By: Anna Wood

• Bad Date: A drunk Andrew takes her to the bedroom and starts making out with her, only to throw up on her.