First up, I finally went and saw "Adjustment Bureau." I originally wanted to see it back in March when it was released...
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality, and a violent image.
Director: George Nolfi
Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt
Theatrical Release Date: March 4, 2011
DVD Release Date: June 21, 2011
When I first saw the trailer [see below] I thought it looked like a less-violent version of Inception, which I was all for. Granted, I like Inception, but hated the violence (hence the reason it is not on my movie shelf). No matter, it immediately attracted my attention because The Adjustment Bureau looked like it had suspense, action, and romance all rolled into one. Talk about my kind of movie!! However, critic reviews I read painted a different picture. The trailer makes the movie out to be rather intense, with a lot of action. It is not. There is intense chase scenes towards the end, but over all the movie is more down-played. The movie focuses more on telling a story and the details, as opposed to the capturing of action scenes. I personally like this technique. The way in which the direction/producer/writer George Nolfi presents the balance between action, story, and romance really captured my attention throughout the entire movie.
Some may view this movie and think it moves along slowly, taking a while to get to "the point." But I actually enjoyed the pace of the film as opposed to random chase/fight scenes.
The story concept is rather interesting. The fact that your life has been planned out to the second really makes one ponder. The whole idea is that every life has a plan and there are moments that are set in time. However, agency and fate sometimes get into the mix and this causes chaos within the plan. There are men (who remind me of "Men In Black") who are charged with keeping the plans in order, making sure certain events never cross. For if those events were to happen, it would alter some plans permanently.
That is the main conflict our lead characters face in this movie. David (Matt Damon) is currently running for a Senate seat in New York, with hopes of one day becoming President. Elise (Emily Blunt) is a dancer with dreams of becoming a choreographer. Their paths cross one day and that was to be the last time they saw each other.
However, David runs into Elise on the bus and she gives him her number so they can stay in contact. But David was not supposed to be on that bus and he was never supposed to see her again. There are multiple reasons for this. One, David arrives at work earlier than planned and witnesses time has frozen and men are scanning his friend's head. He was supposed to be late so he would not have seen that. Obviously the men capture him and talk to him.
The second reason David was not planned to be on the bus was meeting Elise. He was never supposed to see her again. By doing so, it altered both their plans, and if the relationship continued, it would not only destroy David's dreams of becoming President, but also destroy Elise's dreams of being a national choreographer. Thus, the plot is thickened. David must decide to let go the woman of his dreams in order to let her's become a reality.
But there is something stronger than a plan pulling these two together.
Fate.
And thus the struggle between plan, choice, and fate is born! Let the chaos begin!
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. There was, however, more swearing than I would have preferred (a lot of "mild" swearing and the F-word is said once), as well as one scene of sexuality. This, in my opinion ruins good movies (why can't writers/directors understand this simple fact?!).
My rating: B+
Trailer
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