I've always been a fan of speculative history: trying to imagine how history would have progressed if infamous past events had a different outcome than what really happened; such speculation then leads to those addictive, thought-provoking "What if" questions. What if the South had won the Civil War? What if JFK hadn't been assassinated? What if Surf Ninjas became the box office champion that it should have been?
But then there are those "What ifs" that affect us individually. What if I got the other job instead of the one I have now? What if I missed out on my first date with my wife? And sometimes we even go so far as questioning the mundane, such as what would I have experienced if I took the 10:30 bus instead of the 10:45?
And then we question as to whether or not these musings are moot in the first place. After all, if something happened, then it happened, right? Do we really have a choice in deciding our fate, or does fate decide for us while we're not even looking?
It's this study of predestination and free will that permeates director George Nolfi's The Adjustment Bureau, an enjoyable, intelligent sci-fi drama that overcomes its ultimate inability to go even further with its premise by delivering solid performances and terrific chemistry between its lead actors.
It's fall 2006, and hotshot Democratic congressman David Norris (Matt Damon) is having a hot streak in his bid for the New York Senate seat. Unfortunately, a tabloid's revealing photo of Norris derails his efforts, and he loses. Preparing for his concession speech in a hotel bathroom, David happens to discover a woman (Emily Blunt) hiding from security after she crashed a wedding. Smitten with her and inspired by her encouragement to be more honest, David changes his planned concession and delivers an honest speech that revives his popularity and ensures a spot in the next election.
Joining his friend and campaign manager Charlie's (Michael Kelly) venture capital firm a month later, David makes a chance encounter with the woman from the hotel, Elise, on the bus. Getting her number, David exits the bus, only to arrive at the firm and find everyone inside frozen in place, being "scanned" by mysterious men in suits and fedoras. Captured, David is introduced to Richardson (John Slattery) and Harry (Anthony Mackie), who represent "The Adjustment Bureau".
According to Richardson, the Bureau is an omnipresent organization that has been controlling mankind's destiny since the beginning of time. Every single human has a predetermined "plan" (overseen by "case workers"), and regardless of what the human wants or desires, they're never allowed to diverge from that path. All of these paths are controlled by an unseen "Chairman", and though David is let go, he's warned that not only can he never see Elise again, but his mind will be "reset" if he tells anyone about the Bureau's existence.
Three years pass, with the 2010 election looming, and although David's followed their rules, he still can't get Elise out of his mind. Defying his so-called "path", David fights to be with Elise, forcing him to constantly elude not only Richardson, but eventually "upper management" member Thompson (Terence Stamp), who pulls out all the stops to quash David's rebelliousness.
Now when I saw the commercials and trailers for The Adjustment Bureau, I was somewhat perplexed about what genre this film fell under (Sci-fi? Romance? Drama? Thriller?), not to mention the fact that the whole "men-in-suits-controlling-Matt-Damon's-destiny" angle seemed a little too high-concept and even silly to me. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that not only did George Nolfi's directorial debut managed to handle a multi-genre workload, but that the allegories regarding religious predetermination and free will were executed rather nicely and provided welcome thematic material not usually present in chase-heavy thrillers.
Of course, such intelligence is commonplace for a film adaptation of a work by legendary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, whose other short stories and novels became the inspiration for films such as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report. Updating the original 1953 short story by changing its protagonist from a real estate salesman to a young and white-hot politician, Bureau plays with various philosophical and societal issues and how despite there seems to be a facade of free will, underneath there's some sort of pseudo-Draconian planning involved (nicely emphasized early in the film when Damon's character points out that a seemingly honest and frank politician has his speeches and even clothing chosen by someone else).
Speaking of Damon, Mr. Will Hunting himself once again proves what a versatile and talented actor he is. It's actually not hard to picture Damon playing an Obama-esque political superstar, and his chemistry with the lovely Emily Blunt is absolutely perfect (once again, a rarity for a springtime thriller). Unlike the billions of run-of-the-mill action films released every year, the affection between David and Elise feels real, and we feel their pain when that pesky thing called fate continues to tear them apart.
As the fedora-clad case-workers hell-bent on keeping David on "track", Slattery and Mackie do an okay job, though it's tough to seem intimidating when you're dressed like a character from "Guys 'n Dolls". Things get a bit more tense when General Zod himself, Terence Stamp, comes in to handle matters, and the action sequences (including many foot chases) are crafted superbly, especially the inventive way Bureau agents flit from one vicinity to another.
If I found one major flaw with the film, it was that the filmmakers didn't take enough chances with the metaphysical themes that drive the movie. Yes, we know that it's a commentary on fate vs. choice, and that the case workers and the unseen "Chairman" represent angels and God, respectively, and though the material is addressed in a thoughtful and intelligent fashion, it feels as though Nolfi wanted to keep it safe and not offend viewers who advocate either side of this religious debate. It's unfortunate, because if Nolfi had dug deeper, The Adjustment Bureau could have been a masterpiece, rather than just the highly enjoyable film that it is.
Of course, there's nothing wrong whatsoever with being highly enjoyable, and as a sci-fi thriller, The Adjustment Bureau ranks high above the lazy/brainless/forgettable drivel we're usually pummeled with at the cinema. And if that's fate, then hey, I'm okay with that.
Letter Grade: "B+"
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