FILM: The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau

Have you ever wanted to have a glimpse of how your life would pan out? What you would be doing in two weeks? Six months? Ten Years? What if you woke up one day and Chance decided that it was going to mess around with you and give you something of the future and then take it away from you the very next minute?

Well, that’s what David Norris (Matt Damon – The Bourne Trilogy) experienced the day he lost his opportunity to sit for Senate. After a double encounter with the mysterious Elise (Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada), David’s life-plan is twisted and he is no longer going the way they want it to go.

They are The Adjustment Bureau. Headed by an unknown Chairman, they help make sure that the human population is in-line with every single detail that the Chairman has mapped out for them – but apparently even they make mistakes.

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The Story

Based on the short story, “Adjustment Team” by Philip K. Dick, The Adjustment Bureau incorporates the concept of a team that follows direct plans for a certain human being in order for that certain person’s life to run smoothly. I commend George Nolfi for his amazing screenplay adaptation and his directorial efforts, because they truly paid off. I was at the edge of my seat from middle to end, and was continually asking myself questions from the very beginning.

If you’re like me and you watch movies based on their trailers and IMDb synopsises, then you know what it’s like to have a glimpse of what you’re about to see. I wanted to see this film because from the outset because I thought the idea of having the plan for your life laid out for you in “black and white” (as John Slattery – Jack and Bobby, says) and you realising that you actually don’t actually have ‘freewill’ but an “illusion of freewill” (Terence Stamp – Valkyrie) is a deeply nullifying concept.

Imagine it, you go through life and you make decisions, but in reality, those decisions have ALREADY been made FOR you. We often think about things like ‘guardian angels’ or a ‘higher power’, and what is so great about this film is, it takes what we are familiar with an questions its validity by asking, “What if…?”. Like:

• What if…“God’s plan” for our lives is really a series of decisions that He has already made for us?
• What if…the choices we make – good and bad – are always right and never wrong, because, frankly, they’re all part of a plan.
• What if…we do void from the plan? – Can’t they just ‘adjust’ it?

Of course there are flaws in a storyline that prods such questions, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a ‘bad’ or ‘controversial’ idea. It just means someone wanted to imagine a world that could be explained with a series of books of lives rather than a single book of life.

Casting

Cathy Sandrich deserves our applause for her amazing contribution to this film. Not only did Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have incredible chemistry from beginning to end. They also complimented each other so well through their counter balance of screen presence: Damon never over shadowed her and she never overshadowed him when it came to the limelight. The dynamics between John Slattery, Terence Stamp and Anthony Mackie as main three Adjustment Bureaucrats were so well played out that you really had strong feelings as a viewer towards each of them – Slattery: you could hate him, but also understand him; Stamp: you just really wanted him to go away because he was just really mean; and Mackie: you wanted to hug this guy! From the very beginning, these characters were just so well set up that you understood who you would hate and love because these actors never fully overshadow each other. And they’re not supposed to: David and Elise are “enough” for one another, hence their incredible balance of character and presence and The Adjustment Bureau is a team, so why would one of them topple over one another for the limelight? - One man’s mistake is an entire team’s fallout.

Cinematography and Costuming

I have to commend the entire Camera and Electrical Department for their amazing use of camera work and lighting. With a film like this it was important to get the angles and the lighting correct to create that scenic aesthetic of someone always watching. I will also applaud, Richard M. Batholomay, Chris Burns, Jeff Caron, Shane Haden, Daniel Pollack, Cesar Quinones and David Valesco for their amazing choice in the locations for this film. It has the greatest building interiors and New Your locations that complemented the story. The opening shots where Matt Damon is all alone in these mass hallways and rooms were just beautiful and really set up his character profile. But what I loved the most was when they (Damon and Blunt) were together at the Statue of LIBERTY – call it cliché if you want, but I thought it was just brilliant! Why wouldn’t you shoot a film about a man trying to live by his own choices and his own plans in life in a city with such a significantly historical landmark?

I’m only mentioning costuming here because it’s truly significant to the film. The fedoras that the Bureaucrats wore were absolutely CRUCIAL to this film – but I won’t tell you why they need them so badly. They’re crucial character-wise because they define these men. An item, which is so common, becomes also definitive for David in order for him to differentiate the Bureaucrats from every other New Yorker - i.e. ANYONE could be one of them. But if I tell you anymore, I’ll spoil the film – but keep an ear out for the line, “Oh! Hat!” and keep it with you until the movie's about to end.

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Overall thoughts…

I really enjoyed this film. I thought it mixture of action and romance resonated with that of a James Bond film or Die Hard film (not to a great degree, for Bond and Willis fans), but it did have the psychological twist to it to (not as much as Inception though). I will say that I thought the ending could’ve have been a little better. It was a little cliché for my liking, but at the same time I understood why it ended where it did (let me know if you disagree and why you liked it). But overall, I got my money’s worth and I would go see it again.

sL Star Rating: 4 Stars (It lost the other star for the ending.)

Next on sL: TBA (Uni workload is getting really heavy :D).