The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
The Adjustment Bureau (USA) Directed by George Nolfi Written by George Nolfi Starring Matt Damon; Emily Blunt; John Slattery; Terrence Stamp
Screenwriter George Nolti contributed to one of the atrocious Ocean’s sequels and to The Bourne Ultimatum, and here teams with one of the stars of those two films, Matt Damon, as the writer and director of this fantasy thriller. Based (loosely) on a short story, The Adjustment Team, by the estimable Sci Fi novelist Phillip K. Dick (whose work has been made into films like Blade Runner; Minority Report; Total Recall; and A Scanner Darkly, among others), The Adjustment Bureau’s basic premise is that a celestial group is responsible for dictating the fate of the human race. When life events arise that may alter a complex predetermined course they are called in to make adjustments. Damon is politician David Norris, who meets a young woman, Elise Sallas (Emily Blunt), and instantly feels a strong connection to her. The problem is they is not supposed to wind up together, and the film is about Norris’s attempt to alter he and Elise’s individual and dual destinies. The scenes with Blunt and Damon are witty and charming, worthy of a solid romantic comedy (is there such a thing?). Usually in films of the type the characters and dialogue become lost in the wash of technical details and CGI effects (the budget here was only 50 million), but as a writer Nolfi is clearly concerned with the words, and despite the ’science,’ he stays focused on Damon and Blunt. As good an actor as Anthony Mackie (as Bureau guy Harry Mitchell) is the film lags in some of the sections that have him teaching Norris about what his group does. One can’t help recall the extended sections of expository dialogue in Inception with characters essentially narrating the movie as we go, and there are moments when the whole thing frankly seems a bit silly. Thankfully, however, the film rests with Damon and Blunt, and surprisingly, given the genre, there is real romance here. While the on screen chemistry may not exactly remind anyone of the steamy connection of say a Burton and Taylor, there is a believable something between David and Elisa that makes the stakes seem high, and aids in the film’s timeless feel. Shot by the talented John Toll, the visuals are a plus.