Movie Review – The Adjustment Bureau

Plot: A blossoming politician must choose between the woman he loves and his pre-ordained fate when he learns he may not control his own destiny.

Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-free, as always.

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Adjustment Bureau”. The idea of the ‘Adjusters’ has been addressed repeatedly in a variety of films and stories. Rarely has the subject been addressed as ably as in this film.
Thought-provoking and stylish with visual effects intruding only to help tell the story, a feature sadly growing so rare in recent times that I feel I need to call it out. The screenplay is adequate, with the exception of a few parts I will address shortly. Towards the beginning of the film, it had a few “As you well know…” moments that serve to fill the audience in on facts which the characters would obviously already know. These are forgivable.

Where “The Adjustment Bureau” really leaves other similar efforts behind is with its cast.

Matt Damon shines as an everyman turned politician and gives us a character many of us might be able to actually relate to and perhaps even vote for. Anthony Macki (most recently of “The Hurt Locker”) is fantastic and I look forward to seeing much more of his work in the future. Michael Kelly was great as Matt Damon’s best friend and campaign manager. Sadly, his character is used primarily as a plot device and we don’t get to see much more. Anytime I get to see Terrance Stamp work, I’m happy. John Slattery was tone-perfect as ‘Richardson’, playing it with just the perfect amount of unlikeable bureaucrat and devoted but maybe misguided businessman.

This brings me to Emily Blunt. Sure she’s easy on the eyes. I remember seeing her in “The Devil Wears Prada” and thinking she was attractive (but in that film, who isn’t?) I remember wanting to be taken with her in “The Wolfman” but my dislike of that film undoubtedly tainted my opinion. This film nearly owes itself to her casting.

It works because of her performance and the chemistry between her and Matt Damon. When the two of them are on screen together in this film, the film nearly transcends itself. Everything becomes sharper, better, (faster, stronger?) The dialog pops, the acting gets better than it already was. The filmmaker’s did a fantastic job of making me believe that these two characters were meant for one another. Is she painted as perhaps a little bit too ideal? Probably, but the filmmakers did a great job creating a character most men would defy incredible odds to be with. And because of that, everything else falls into place.

Bottom Line: The trailers are a little deceptive. I went into “The Adjustment Bureau” expecting a sci-fi/fantasy thriller. Instead I was treated to a good love story, with some fantasy elements thrown in. Definitely go see it.