The Adjustment Bureau

· by · in 4 Star, Reviews. ·

Phillip K. Dick with a sense of humour and a heart.

It is true that almost all Phillip K. Dick adaptations, although beautifully imagined and bursting to the seams with interesting science fiction theories, are terribly bleak. Steeped in a sense of intense paranoia, previous works adapted for the big screen, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly and Blade Runner, frequently lack a sense of fun and spend most their time exploring the darker recesses of the human mind.

It is refreshing then to see an adaptation of Dick’s work which is not only fun and pacey, but also has a heart. Although technically a science fiction movie, The Adjustment Bureau could also as accurately be described as a political drama or even more so as a romance. The central story follows Matt Damon’s presidential hopeful as he loses his first run at the Senate, shortly after he meets Emily Blunt’s ‘Elise’ a dancer who is destined for greatness and they have a fleeting moment in which they both feel drawn to one another.

Instep The Adjustment Bureau, a group of shadowy figures, dressed in immaculate suits and sporting 1950’s style trilbies. The Bureau set to make sure the two are never together and here unwinds the story of a group of people working for an unseen ‘upstairs’ who keep everything to the right plan. Being together will ruin any chance either of them has of fulfilling their dreams, and it is this contradiction which fuels the narrative.

Damon is likable as the politician who succeeds by telling the truth and although this isn’t his most challenging role of recent years he is perfectly adequate to the role and brings a sense of humour and light touch to some of the more explosive scenes in the movie.

Damon, is able supported by a great cast including, John Slattery bringing a spirit of Mad Men to the management of his Bureau team and Antony Mackie, bringing a heart to the apparently automated Bureau. Terrence Stamp brings the authority needed and keeps the guessing game of who really runs the Bureau moving with his frequent appearances.

It is with Emily Blunt however that the film really shines. Blunt is mesmerising as the aloof yet emotional Elise, her acerbic wit and carefree attitude with Damon in the early scenes builds well to a fully formed character, allowing her performance during the films climactic final act to be heart-breaking, engaging and truly believable; of all the British actresses currently working in Hollywood, Blunt is really starting to cut a reputation for herself as someone who can offer something other than the standard British girl routine.

Director Nolfi, has fun with this film and his use of special effects is subtle to allow the film to feel possible throughout, while also doing some tricks just for the hell of it, without giving too much away, you’ll be amazed where some of those doors lead, and when some of them lead there for only a few seconds, you can feel the excitement of the creative team coming through the screen, some of those ‘What if?’ meetings clearly arrived in the final film.

The Adjustment Bureau has a lot of fun with its function blurring the lie between sci-fi, reality and a genuinely engaging love story which ultimately asks the question, What do you give up, when you give in to love?

****

 

59 responses to “The Adjustment Bureau”

  7. Good film, saw this at the cinema couple of weeks ago. A little bit slower paced than I was expecting, but very good story and would definitely recommend.

  8. I agree. I really enjoyed the film. While I think they could have gone even further with it (though I can’t quite say how…), it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours and get you thinking a bit.

  9. It was a fun romp, not particularly thrilling except for the last act. I didn’t like how they marketed it as a this action balls to the walls explosions and fruit carts movie.

    • I agree that it was badly marketed, it was not ‘Bourne meets Inception’. It’s a shame the marketing guys get it so wrong sometimes.

  11. after seeing this and rereading lots of reviews, i was shocked that there were so many bad reviews. really enjoyed it & the chemistry between damon and blunt was amazing!

  12. I loved this movie a lot! I thought of it as a spiritual movie as well.. It has now become my favorite movie.. There were so many layers of messages in this movie..

  14. Wow–you’ve sold me on the film! Sounds fabulous–and what an incredible question, one that is so foundational and pivotal to relationships–What does one give up, when one gives into love?

    Thanks for sharing and congrats on being Freshly Pressed!

    Kathy

    • Thanks, I was so shocked when I logged in today and saw over 1,000 hits. Was a bit worried the final line sounded a bit ‘Sex and the City’

  16. While I admit Phillip K. Dick’s short story held its own, its translation to film would have greatly benefited from similar brevity. The discovery of the doors and the blossoming relationship between Damon and Blunt is well executed and held my attention right up to a certain point. Then it became painfully obviously George Nolfi ran out of source material. The movie quickly fell on to a track as predictable as a Tokyo bullet train and subsequently I lost all interest.

    I went into the theater expecting to see Damon’s response to Inception and I still feel that is a fair comparison. The Adjustment Bureau lacks the strong conflict that Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard skillfully brought to Inception but while Damon’s character is presented with what should be a tough choice, not once did I feel the decision weigh on him heavily. In the end I found The Adjustment Bureau, like so many sci-fi films before it, an interesting concept that looses steam too quickly.

    • I think you’re right about it running out of steam towards the end, however I thought it managed to keep pace by increasing the spectacle.

      • I disagree completely. While the spectacle was interesting the first few times and it was interesting seeing Damon memorize all of the doors, that’s all there was to it. It never really built up to anything. Even the “counter-clockwise” taboo was anti-climactic. It didn’t show us anything we hadn’t seen before. I found the movie’s pace to be steady and even from the first interrogation onward. There may have been a slight increase in intensity when Damon crossed that first threshold, but it was not enough for me.

  17. Interesting premise for the movie. I do usually like Damon, but Emily Blunt I find somehow very flat and aloof in most of her roles…interesting to see her in this film, maybe her natural “aloofness” worked in her favour on this one!

    • Aloof, is certainly right, and in this she was playing an aloof character so it suited her. I really think she is one of the most talented British actors, she’s up there with Carey Mulligan

  21. Pingback: MARATHONS AND DIVERSE OPINIONS SPOTLIGHTING – HOLLYWOOD 3.27.11 « Horiwood's Blog·

  24. Sounds interesting, I will have to see it. I love things with a light tinge of sci fi. I hope this is an improvement on Damon’s last film .. It was awful!

    • Do you mean ‘Hereafter’, I didn’t think it was that bad. They should have stuck to two storylines per character instead of three.

  31. I was on the fence about seeing this one, but I’m going to go through with it! Thanks! (I didn’t think Spielberg did a very good job with minority report.)

  32. I enjoyed the film, but mostly because of the romance (so sue me, I’m a not-so-closeted romantic). I thought the sci-fi aspect could have gone much further – there was no payoff for the counterclockwise-doorknob line, and I thought the hat thing was kind of silly. At least one of them could have been wearing a Yankees hat and someone else a Red Sox hat, to get the audience going. I liked your review though; really well-written.

    Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!

  37. After reading your review, I really want to watch the film. Looking at the posters, I was a bit indifferent (nothing against Matt and Emily), but now I’m really intrigued. Thanks for swaying me.

  39. Personally, I felt The Adjustment Bureau was like a non-animated Monster’s Inc blended with paranoia & a romantic story. Enjoyed the ride, but I would not watch it again. Great review, however!

  40. I liked the feel of The Adjustment Bureau… it reminded me of a Hitchcock movie, with Matt Damon instead of Cary Grant and Emily Blunt instead of Kim Novak (of course, there were other actors, these are just a couple from Hitchcock). The pacing felt just right — probably slow compared with other recent movies, but correct here. This was a good piece of entertainment.

  41. I expected a suspense film sort of like MIB or Matrix so I found this not quite what I expected but found the storyline interesting enough. The climax didn’t really up the ante for me because I felt the film had further potential which was unused.

    Awesome last line but actually found the romance scenes in the film quite bland apart from the coffee spill scene in the bus. Matt and Emily have really good chemistry though.

    You can read my review here: http://leadinglight.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/the-adjustment-bureau/#comments

  42. I am a PKD fan, but I had never even heard of the Adjustment Bureau until I knew the film was coming out and I decided to look it up. I actually found most of a ‘A Scanner Darkly’ quite funny, but maybe that is because I had read the story.

    The Adjustment bureau is an a really nice, feel good movie.

  43. I went to see this movie without any expectations, well I did think there would be more action. I found the concept of it to be very interesting and the main character annoying. I found myself thinking, if they didn’t tell him that he couldn’t have her, would he have been so persistant about it. The “angels” so to speak reminded me of the bald men in Fringe, for those of you who watch it and just reminds me that strange things do happen.

  46. I saw the movie a few days before it hit all theaters. Unfortunately, I was a little underwhelmed. The trailer was misleading, yes, but it was a damn good trailer nonetheless. What was so disappointing was that the ending was anti-climactic. It wasn’t fully believable how the “adjustment bureau” had been at work and the off work throughout the different major events in history as Terrance Stamp’s character recounted. It was almost as if there was too much development and not enough time to fully execute all of it. I do agree w/ you though in that Matt Damon and Emily Blunt especially really make the film.

    I guess my biggest thought for the film is that it presses you to ask questions and discuss ideas afterwards. It’s a bad thing in that the plot certainly lacks realism (the adjustment bureau itself contains multiple holes), but the great thing is that regardless of how they went about the film, it’s already placed ideas in your mind that you start questioning. What about free will? Does it exist? Is there a higher being?

    Nice review without the spoilers!

  47. Pingback: Movie Review: The Adjustment Bureau (2011) « About Writing – The Personal Blog of Pace J Miller·

  48. What a fantastic site you have here! I love your reviews and more in particular, I loved this film review here. You capture the exact essence of Adjustment Bureau and one thing was undeniable: I never knew when to take the film seriously and when to laugh, because there were some humorous moments-and Emily Blunt WAS sublime as always. Good stuff 🙂

  49. I’ll have to say I wasn’t super-impressed with this film. it was highly recommended to me by a friend whose taset I generally trust, but I never was taken in by it. i’ll admit i dosed off for about 20 minutes somewhere in the middle. don’t quite understand the great reviews on this one. I really did like the last 5 minutes or so though

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