Review
'Adjustment Bureau' wins with on-screen chemistry
March 24, 2011
When young politician David Norris (Matt Damon) is running for governor of New York he is always in the public’s eye. His age, along with some college photos, set David at a disadvantage in his campaign. Even with his loss in his campaign, he still finds a way to stay in the spotlight with a heartfelt speech to the public after a rendezvous in the bathroom with a girl he had only met for five minutes. By chance he runs into this same girl, Ellis Sellas (Emily Blunt), on a bus through the city the very next day.
A group of men in trench coats and fedora hats want to make sure Norris stays away from Ellis because the fact they met up again by chance was a bad thing. This chance meet up altered his life that is essentially planned by these men that work for the Adjustment Bureau. Norris must now either choose to keep living the life he is set to lead or break the rules of his planned future and go find the woman he is so infatuated with. Little does he know that this Bureau has powers that are beyond any normal human’s control.
“The Adjustment Bureau” has all the makings of an average thriller, which it is, but there is a part of it that excels the movie past the point of average: the love connection between Damon and Blunt. The bond they share when they are on the screen together is spectacular. I felt like I was involved in their relationship from the moment they met each other in the bathroom to their amazing chemistry during their scene on the bus to their run for the truth at the top of a skyscraper. It all just worked for me.
As for the Bureau itself, it is a different concept that was done in a very fashionable way. Once the pieces start to come together you start to understand the underlying truth and tones in the movie. The only thing is these tones illuminate how humans should behave with a lot of religious context, which at some points bogs down the film.
Often times “The Adjustment Bureau” mixes its thriller/romantic plot with some science fiction that just doesn’t work and is not needed. Besides those few gripes, this movie was actually very good. I realized I became sucked into this film. Not because I was so interested in what the ending was going to be but where it would lead the two lead characters relationship. If you are looking for a good night out at the movies, for sure see “The Adjustment
Dustyn Dubuque is a history major and geography minor that has a love and passion for film. He watches over 100 films each year and loves Academy Awards season.