The Adjustment Bureau Review

Given the continued popularity of Philip K Dick adaptations over the last thirty years, the success of recent reality-bending thrillers such as Black Swan andInception and Matt Damon’s unfaltering onscreen appeal, there’s an odd sense of inevitability about The Adjustment Bureau, as if it’s surprising that he hasn’t done a film like this sooner. Taking its plot from Dick’s 1954 short story Adjustment Team, The Adjustment Bureau sees Damon’s rising politician David Norris at odds with the literal and powerful agents of fate, who are attempting to keep his destiny ‘on path’ after it is threatened with derailment when Norris meets Emily Blunt’s alluring dancer, Elise. Can Norris implement his own free will and be with the woman he loves or is he powerless to resist his chosen destiny?

What seems most important to convey about The Adjustment Bureau is that not everyone is going to like it. It is neither an action-packed adventure, nor is it a particularly enlightening discussion about free will versus destiny. Many will find it too light and frothy and others will find it dull and slow. There will be some, however, too few to make a significant impression on the box office, that will find it an enjoyable, amusing and pleasing film and this reviewer is among that number.

Key to what I perceived to be The Adjustment Bureau’s success was its refusal to take itself too seriously. Magic hats are a major plot element; Norris’s main obstacle in getting voted into office is having a picture printed in a newspaper of him baring his arse and at one point an agent of the Bureau threatens Norris with the following: ‘if you reveal our existence, we will erase your brain!’ It’s all deeply silly stuff, but the film’s tongue is slightly in its cheek and its heart is certainly in the right place. Rather than a focus on hard sci-fi ‘issues’ or spectacular action set pieces, at the core of the film is a tale of romance. Damon and Blunt have considerable screen chemistry and their brief yet passionate encounters over the course of several years feel real and touching. Damon is predictably excellent as the West Wing-esque idealist politician and Blunt charms her way through her role with heart and gusto.

Whilst writer and first time director George Nolfi perhaps fails to bring anything particularly new to the plate, it is satisfying to see a decent story well told. There’s also an appealing sort of innocence about the film that harks back to a more optimistic time before blockbuster science fiction became all doom, gloom and seriousness.

The Adjustment Bureau may be too focussed on the romantic aspects of its plot to satisfy a hard core of science fiction fans and yet it is not shorn of enough obscurity to appeal to a mainstream audience. As such, it is hard to imagine it being a well-loved and remembered film. But for those who are willing to accept its flaws, The Adjustment Bureau will be an enjoyable, smile-raising bit of fun for years to come. At least, that’s the destiny I predict for the film.