What happens if we're given a chance to look behind the curtain? Are there puppet-masters controlling our destiny, or do we have free will; what is “chance”, what is “fate”, is there really a difference? Screenwriter-turned-director George Nolfi's The Adjustment Bureau probes these heavy, philosophical questions with such a light hand you're disarmed into an easy enjoyment of the film.
With The Adjustment Bureau inspired by Philip K Dick's 1954 short story “Adjustment Team”, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's an out-and-out futuristic film; however sci-fi romance is its more accurate description. The heart of this fizzy film on future-shaping and alternate pathways is a love story brought alive by its actors.
Matt Damon is David Norris, a Democratic candidate in the New York Senate race. Armed with Charlie (Michael Kelly) as campaign manager and an innate love for public life, David projects charisma and confidence, the sort that makes the voter want to run, not walk, to the ballot boxes. But politics is a fickle lover. An unfortunate picture from his youthful days causes his campaign to tank dramatically.
While preparing his concession speech in the men's loo, David unexpectedly meets Elise (Emily Blunt). His solidness and her airiness collide to good effect. Schmaltzy as it sounds, she inspires him into making a very different kind of concession speech — i.e. the electrifying kind — but then vanishes.
It seems astonishingly hard for the two to pursue their relationship. But David learns it isn't random bad luck, rather it's shadowy folks in hats actively working to keep them apart. Different members of this hat-wearing set — in hierarchical order, Harry (Anthony Mackie), Richardson (John Slattery) and Thompson (Terence Stamp) — try and convince David that being together with Elise is just not written into the “Chairman's” life-plan for them.
Far from being faceless bureaucrats, The Adjustment Bureau 's Mackie, Slattery and Stamp are each a nuanced character and very engaging to boot. Though reminiscent of the angels who hover mournfully on the rooftops of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire , this trio is quite a different creation, grounded yet aloof.
The movie mixes together elements from different genres — sci-fi, political thriller, romance, fantasy, the classic chase — and the result is something calibrated to be familiar yet different. Yes, the ending is terribly predictable, but counterbalancing that, the film is willing to be quirky — for example, it's wearing hats that allow the adjustment team to slip in and out of different realities.
Nolfi displays a sure understanding of what makes entertaining yet intelligent cinema. When you learn Nolfi studied public policy at Princeton, philosophy at Oxford University and political science at UCLA, you recognise the source code of this idiosyncratic film. That Nolfi could keep this vision intact was because of Damon's weight behind the project. Nolfi, who worked as screenwriter with Damon on Ocean's Twelve and The Bourne Ultimatum , wrote The Adjustment Bureau with the actor in mind; either by chance or destiny, the fit is a good one.
The Adjustment Bureau
Genre: Sci-fi romance
Director: George Nolfi
Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp.
Storyline: A shadowy agency in snazzy hats seems determined to thwart the romance between politician Matt Damon and dancer Emily Blunt.
Bottomline: Destined to provide an entertaining outing at the movies.
