- Location: Century Boulder
- The Adjustment Bureau is my kind of romantic drama. At its heart is a convincing love story between rough-and-tumble Senate hopeful David Norris (Matt Damon) and glib-talking ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). For most of their lives, David and Elise were meant for each other. That is, they were meant for each other, but not anymore. Despite hitting it off in a seemingly random encounter in a men's room, David and Elise are never supposed to see one another again. You see, there's this powerful organization that keeps track of things like that. Consisting primarily of serious-looking fellows in hats, they're the "people who control your destiny" and who "make sure that everything happens according to plan." Whose plan? Well, the film sensibly declines to get too specific about that, but the audience can fill in its favorite "Man Upstairs."
- Trouble is, normal people aren't even supposed to know about this organization. One imagines that the average citizen probably enjoys the notion of free will and would be disturbed to learn that life is, to some extent, pre-scripted. That's why it's such a problem when David stumbles upon an "Adjustment Bureau" brainwashing session being executed on his friend and employer, Charlie Traynor (Michael Kelly). Due to a slight lapse in vigilance on the part of David's weary "case worker," Harry Mitchell (Anthony Mackie), David witnesses a silver-haired company man named Richardson (John Slattery) manipulating Charlie's brain. After a short and, from David's perspective, quite confusing pursuit, the bureau has David in custody. "You've seen behind the curtain you weren't supposed to know existed," explains Richardson. Keep the secret, and life goes on as normal. Make too much of a stink, and you get your brain wiped. Oh, and you'll never get to see Elise again. David makes the understandable choice, although he can't help but notice that Charlie's opinion on solar energy has changed considerably since the last time they spoke.
- Fast forward a few years, and David is far along the path to becoming a Senator. That is, until a chance, and I do mean chance, encounter with Elise sparks an old flame. Again, the Adjustment Bureau must intervene, this time kicking it upstairs to Thompson (Terence Stamp), an austere-looking gentleman nicknamed "The Hammer." If Harry Mitchell was the loving, caring approach to divine intervention, Thompson is strictly Old Testament. He spells out for David what altering the plan will mean for him and Elise alike and how it not only "kills your dreams, it kills hers." After causing Elsie to sprain an ankle during a performance, Thompson nastily explains to David that "I always hear people saying you can't blame yourself for what happens to other people, but in this case, really, you can." Is there any point in trying to fight these guys? Can you ever hope to outrun your fate?
- Well, yes and no. Although The Adjustment Bureau clearly raises such ponderous philosophical queries, it also has sense enough to formulate a fairly simple answer, namely that the universe just ain't perfect. Apparently possessing none of the traditional "omni" qualities of omniscience, omnipresence, or omnipotence, the film's divine "Chairman" comes across as severely understaffed and somewhat indecisive, at least by godly standards. Sure, he's got a dedicated staff of remarkably well-haberdashered employees trying to keep His plan on track, but with sufficient effort you can actually get Him to change His mind. That said, the film's real virtues are hardly of a theological nature, instead taking the forms of immensely clever dialogue, breathtaking urban cinematography, and memorably rendered chase sequences. Working with a premise that seemed destined to imitate either the lackluster Philip K. Dick source material or Alex Proyas' excellent Dark City, first-time director George Nolfi defies the fates by delivering a surprisingly fresh, creative, and, dare I say, romantic film.
- As mentioned, this was based on a Philip K. Dick short story called The Adjustment Team.
