Weird and wonderful

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Certified: PG
Duration: 106 minutes
Directed by: George Nolfi
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Michael Kelly, John Slatterly, Anthony Mackie, Terence Stamp
KRS release

Adapting the weird and wonderful tomes of Philip K. Dick has never been easy. However, first-time director George Nolfi takes the short story The Adjustment Team and pulls it off quite smoothly. This is a romantic film which also includes a sci-fi premise, metaphors about God and destiny, smooth visual effects and a couple who have real on-screen zing. I really loved it and along with Rango, these are the first two really great films of 2011.

The start of the film had me mystified as I could not understand what was happening but the more things fell into place, the more I started enjoying the weird concept of this film. The Adjustment Bureau succeeds where others would have failed in bringing together romance and mystery on a cosmic scale. By the end, it left me wondering about our own lives and how much one would really need an Adjustment Team to keep one from making any mistakes. Or are we really free to make the mistakes we believe to be mistakes? This is one of those movies that will have you discussing the underlying implications right into the night.

David Norris (Matt Damon) is the youngest Congressman to run for the US Senate and an actual favourite. However, to the consternation of his campaign head and adviser Charlie (Michael Kelly), a prank he pulls makes him lose the race. Thus he has to read out a prepared speech which he rehearses in the men’s restroom. There he meets free-spirited Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) who had just crashed a wedding. The dancer had been in the men’s room hiding from security. The two end up talking but she is soon out of his life. However, her spirit and frankness inspire him to give an improvised speech which wins him new support and places him as a contender for the next election.

The story skips to about a month later. David has teamed up with Charlie to work at a venture capital firm biding his time until the next election. On the bus ride he runs once more into Elise. This time he gets her number. That is when The Adjustment Bureau intervene. These are men dressed in suits, complete with 1950s style hats and copybooks that have a person’s life scripted in them. These “case workers” come imbued with special powers which include telekinesis and the ability to open doors that transport them from one part of the city to another in the blink of an eye.

Their agenda on behalf of “The Chairman” higher above is to keep David and Elise apart. The two together as a couple are not part of The Chairman’s plan. David cannot say anything to anyone or he will be reprogrammed. He learns that there is no free will and that if he stays with Elise he will squash her dreams and she will squash his. The rest of the world will suffer as he has what it takes to be a great president.

When David and Elise decide to let their hearts and not their mind do the talking, Thompson (Terence Stamp), nicknamed The Hammer, is brought in to catch the couple and reprogramme them before the future and the world’s destiny is changed.

At the core of this mix of thrills, philosophy and romance is the chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. It’s very easy to sympathise with the character of Elise who does not know why David is entering and leaving her life so drastically. The connection is there, it is believable and, most of all, I wanted the two to hook up together.

At the start things may be a bit confusing especially as we are not sure of what is going on. Once David starts his battle not just for his love but also for free will and he (and us) receives an explanation of what is happening, than we and the film are all the better for it. Another factor which I really enjoyed was the smooth visual effects that see characters opening doors which should lead to an office but lead to a stadium, which should lead to a closet and instead open in the subway. These visual effects are really well-handled, giddy to behold and in the exciting and thrilling third act, these are really put to good use.

While the closing explanation may be a bit too simplistic, The Adjustment Bureau had me well and truly adjusted to the film’s wily charms.