David O'ConnellThe Adjustment Bureau
February 23rd 2011 02:23
Fate, free will or subtle adjustments from the Man Upstairs? What forces in the universe really control our ultimate destiny? In George Nolfi’s The Adjustment Bureau, a wild extrapolation of a Philip K. Dick short story, a charismatic young New York politician, David Norris (Matt Damon), must decide between a road that may eventually lead to the White House – or love with a perfect stranger.
With Norris’s push for a Senate seat derailed on Election day by unflattering revelations from his past, he encounters a beautiful woman in the unlikeliest of places – a men’s room, in which he begins practicing his concession speech aloud, unaware of the presence of Elise (Emily Blunt). The scene where she sheepishly slinks out of the stall to make her presence known is a delight and one of the film's best, with an easy rapport quickly established between them. For David, the attraction is instantaneous.
Little does he know however that other forces, in the form of a regimented crew of spiffy men in suits and hats, are putting plans in place to thwart their next meeting. When a bungling agent (Anthony Mackie) misses his cue by a small margin, David causes an unscripted chain of events to ensue. Unwittingly he becomes witness to a paranormal re-alignment of time and space as the head of the suits (John Slattery) instructs his men in a series of miniscule readjustments that adhere to his superior's master plan.
Walking in upon what no man should ever see, David is necessarily de-briefed: he's provided with startling inside knowledge that he must keep to himself. The men in suits, he discovers, are actually agents for The Chairman, the architect of everything that happens or doesn't happen in the world. Informed that it is not in the script for David and Elise to ever meet, he sets about contravening their supposed inalterable knowledge of the future, determined to defy them and ignore their threats of having his mind erased if he continues to seek her out.
Will David be able to outwit this army of agents, redesigning not only Elise’s fate but his own? Or will the domino effect his defiance causes be destructive in innumerable and unknowable ways?
The Adjustment Bureau’s oddly affecting blend of sci-fi and romance includes many great elements, not the least of which is a freewheeling plot that never stoops to over-seriousness to ram home its pontifications on the nature of free will. Most telling in the films' ultimate success however is the electric chemistry between its two stars, with Blunt effectively annihilating her incomprehensible presence in recent abominations like The Wolfman (2010) and Gulliver’s Travels (2010) with a captivating turn.
Here, Blunt is allowed again to show off her sparkling, alluring presence; and without her grace-saving naturalism the film would almost have certainly died an inglorious death. In counteracting the absurdity of Elise's initial meeting with David, she compels us to believe in the connection instantly forged between them and the wonky logic of everything that follows can almost be excused for its imaginative gesturing at the painful yet blissful incongruity of everyday life. The ever-reliable Damon is as solid as ever and a perfect complement.
Working for the first time as both writer and director, Nolfi has crafted a final product that is both slick and entertaining. His casting is spot on, with Terence Stamp appearing as a sinister and higher up the food chain version of Slattery’s character to provide gravitas for a few scenes in which his brutal assessment of David’s continuing insolence has little effect. Mackie too is superb as the empathetic agent, perhaps the one hope David and Elise have of a reunion; in effect he's like a personification of a loophole in the flawed design of the universe.
Thomas Newman contributes a deftly supportive score which infuses his trademark piano motifs with an array of electronics; though never reaching fever pitch in aping the action scenes, neither does it undermine the sense of momentum Nolfi is aiming to generate.
Will anyone remember The Adjustment Bureau (2011) a year from now? Probably not, but despite its perceived disposability, this is a thoroughly engaging ride with the presence of Damon and Blunt carrying this thing right to the finish line. The final scenes may be perceived by some as weak and anti-climatic but not so much that they can discredit a film which, personally, I think still passes with flying colours.
The Adjustment Bureau opens in Australian cinemas next Thursday, March 3.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
It was certainly entertaining on a very superficial level. A poor man's Inception perhaps?
Good production values, and Emily was wonderful. I've never managed to warm to Damon's screen presence. It's not that I dislike him, I'm just indifferent. He never entirely engages me.
Terence Stamp looked vaguely more interested than usual ... I was waiting for him to tell Matt Damon to "Kneel before Zod ..."
New York has never looked more cool.
I'd like to review this, but I just don't think it ticks enough "nightmare" boxes for me to include it on Horrorphile, and it's not good enough for me to include on Cult Projections.
And why is it in Hollywood movies when one character tells another character they look like shit, they don't look like shit at all ..??
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
The original story is 20 pages long and includes the basic premise of manipulation, basically just a small chunk from the early part of the film.
Can't answer your last query mate, but I do know this: Emily Blunt never looks like shit.