I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when me and my friend Q. went to see The Adjustment Bureau. We originally were supposed to see Biutiful but ended up missing the start of the film and not being allowed inside. The Arclight in Hollywood don’t play! I wasn’t too excited about seeing this film because the trailer showed far too much about the film and I had a feeling that there was no way possible that the ending would please me. I was right.
The film stars Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, Dogma, The Bourne Series) as David Norris, a politician running for Senate. One day he meets a woman played by Emily Blunt (The Wolfman, The Devil Wears Prada, Dan In Real Life) named Elise Sallas, a dancer. The two of them meet and immediately fall in love.
An agent named Harry played by Anthony Mackie (8 Mile, The Manchurian Candidate, Hurt Locker) is literally asleep at the job and misses what he was supposed to do, spill coffee on David Norris, thereby causing David and Elise to never meet. Why shouldn’t they meet? Because The Adjustment Bureau has plans for David. Are the plans evil? They never explain. Sorry. I didn’t express my bitchness enough. They never friggin’ explain why they even care why he should be president! Its not like they say “We want you to be president because…”
The Adjustment Bureau try to do everything possible to keep David from meeting Elise again. Now, these guys are everywhere. Pretty much any man you see in a hat and dressed like they just stepped out of Casablanca works for The Adjustment Bureau. They can open a door and all of a sudden be all the way across the city. They have a book that shows where you are supposed to be and every step you take to make sure that you do what they need you to do. Are these guys angels? Demons? Baby Jesus’?! They never say. Awesome…
David and Elise end up meeting again years later (even though they look exactly the same!) and try to outrun The Adjustment Bureau by using the magical hat given to them by the now rogue agent Harry. After running through doors and ending up all over the place they end up trapped on a rooftop and embracing each other. The new guy in charge of controlling David’s life decides that they have earned the right to have free will. Wait.
What?!
This movie was based off of a Philip K. Dick short story. I didn’t know that before seeing it and if I had I would have told my friend Q. “Maybe we should stay at the bar…” because there have been plenty of films based off of Dick’s books and stories and only one has come out right, A Scanner Darkly. His stories are about paranoia and the G-Men coming for you and Big Brother and all that. My biggest issue with this film was that I never felt the love between the two stars. I didn’t care whether or not they got together. Great camera work, good music, and a great set of actors. But emotion was missing for me.
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