Movie Review - 'The Adjustment Bureau'

The Adjustment Bureau Starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, John Slattery, Anthony Mackie Directed by George Nolfi Rated PG-13

Do we have free will to make our own choices in life? Is there a "bigger picture" that involves things larger than ourselves, to which our decisions contribute? These are the questions asked by The Adjustment Bureau, although it does so somewhat timidly. First-time writer-director George Nolfi, who previously wrote Ocean's Twelve and co-wrote The Bourne Ultimatum, wants to present these sorts of would-be mind-blowing concepts and explore their philosophical implications, but he also wants to make sure he doesn't offend anybody in the audience in the process.

His main character, David Norris (Matt Damon), is a congressman from New York who's running for the Senate and has aspirations of continuing to move up the chain of command from there. We learn of his career in politics via an opening montage that treads lightly on the actual politics of David's career; at campaign rallies, people hold up signs with his name on them, but he apparently belongs to no political party. Instead David's story focuses on who he is: the youngest-ever Congressman, with a habit of getting himself into trouble when he can't control his impulses. These are traits that Damon embodies well: as an actor now in his early 40s, he's still able to exude a boyish charm that brings us instantly onto his side, and then he takes that confidence we have in him and uses it to guide us in more-serious directions.

By chance (or maybe not), David meets a beautiful woman named Elise (Emily Blunt) with whom he feels an instant connection. They meet cute in a bathroom on election night. He's just suffered a surprising defeat thanks to those impulse-control issues and is trying to come up with a sufficiently gracious consolation speech, she's hiding from hotel security after crashing a wedding and stealing a bottle of champagne. They talk as if they've known each other all their lives; as a writer, Nolfi has a knack for capturing that "love at first sight" feeling in a way that makes us buy it. Rather than be annoyed by the contrivance, we're charmed by its feeling of legitimacy.

David can't get Elise out of his head, and when he randomly (or maybe not) sees her on a bus a few months later, he becomes further smitten. The problem is, we learn, he's not supposed to end up with her. He wasn't supposed to get on that bus. It turns out that there's a group of beings who guide our existence, according to The Plan, which is written by The Chairman. It's implied that The Chairman is God, but again Nolfi wants to avoid pinning it down—"you have many names for him," one character says. His minions are known only by their last names, except for one (we're instantly aware that he's different). They're here to guide us according to The Plan, to disrupt the course of our lives when they're headed in an unintended direction. They might be angels, if you want them to be, but the film won't tell you how it feels about the matter.

The second meeting that wasn't supposed to happen was the result of Harry (Anthony Mackie) sleeping on the job, and so drastic measures must be taken. The existence of The Adjustment Bureau is revealed to David by Richardson (John Slattery) by means of a dialogue-heavy piece of explanatory exposition. There are rules that both we and them must play by, and they're laid out as a road map for the rest of the movie—it's readily apparent that in order to secure Elise's love, David's journey will be a series of acts that break these rules. And of course, we're rooting for him to do so.

The heady thoughts that form the basis of The Adjustment Bureau come as no surprise; they're a common theme in the stories of Philip K. Dick, one of which ("Adjustment Team") is the inspiration for this film. Nolfi's exploration of them is on a purely superficial level, though he also does a good job of using the Adjustment Bureau shtick to drive his story. The film is non-commital in its stance on free will and predestination, but it doesn't give you much of a reason to feel one way or another about these topics, either. Does David end up with Elise? Well, you probably know the answer to that going in, and it makes it hard to take the concept of "The Plan" too seriously if that's the case.

That Plan is represented by books that look like their pages contain animated circuit boards, constantly in motion, which the members of the Bureau can read to see the paths that people's lives are on. Along with their fedoras and trenchcoats —not to mention the fact that one of their bosses is portrayed by the always-classy Terence Stamp, who also gets to wear a cool-looking scarf draped around his shoulders—the style of the film feels refreshingly retro, but not obviously so. It doesn't rely on heavy special effects to get its points across; a subtle whooshing sound every time a Bureau member goes through a door, or a penchant for sweeping shots of New York City from atop its tallest buildings, is enough to instil the sense of mystery and scope that's needed, and these sorts of techniques fit the story well.

I'd prefer The Adjustment Bureau to be a film that has more of an opinion on the questions it asks, but I suppose that's almost beside the point. This isn't a movie that's trying to answer the big questions of our existence; it's more of an attempt to be a feel-good story that just might be a little inspirational, too. Anthony Mackie, whose emotionally raw performance in The Hurt Locker added so much gravitas to that film, here again gets to give a speech that attempts to summarize the movie's aim. The difference is, rather than coming organically from within the context of the story, in The Adjustment Bureau it's a voice-over at the end where he speaks directly to the audience. If you're not annoyed by that idea, you'll probably like this movie more than I did.

Comments

[topcatchmovies.com]

This movie was very good... i was so glad to see it in topcatchmovies dot c o m :)

[Atlanta Roofing]

The ending is somewhat of a foregone conclusion, it still engrosses you in a huge way, and the final twenty minutes are stunning. And this actually contains one of Damon's finest performances--naturalistic, subtle, relatable. Some nice sinister undertones, but it's kept earthbound. Just an overall impressive production in every respect.

[online streaming movies]

One of Matt Damon's best films ever.