I’ve jumped on the Emily Blunt bandwagon. Maybe it’s because I’m a big fan of her husband, John Krasinski, but I’m more certain it stems from her performance alongside Matt Damon in The Adjustment Bureau. However, don’t let my appreciation of Blunt (Sunshine Cleaning) and Damon (The Departed) misguide you. While these two had very convincing and heart-warming chemistry on screen, The Adjustment Bureau as a whole seemed to fall just a little short of being something special.
The Adjustment Bureau follows politician David Norris, played by Damon, and ballerina Elise Sellas, played by Blunt, over a span of a few years. The movie chronicles their relationship, or to put it more accurately, their attempt at maintaining one. Mysterious, secretive men in suits do not want these two together, and they’ll go to extremely annoying lengths to make sure of it. These men, better known as the adjustment bureau (although I never actually remember hearing that title used in the film), slightly alter your decision making if you happen to stray from your destined path. David and Elise ending up together was not part of the plan. As the bureau tries to fix this mistake by throwing obstacles in David’s way, David doesn’t make it easy for them.
The likeability of both Damon and Blunt’s characters is what drives this movie. The problem with the film stems from the bureau itself. At times, scenes which attempt to be ominous and eerie end in silliness. The men who comprise the bureau are mostly incompetent, a quality you certainly would not expect from men who have the power to make adjustments to free will. Norris is constantly outsmarting them, and quite easily I may add, which just prevents The Adjustment Bureau from reaching a certain level of thrill or intrigue.
Don’t get me wrong, the men of the bureau have their chilling moments, but it was too little, too late. Perhaps rookie director George Nolfi was aiming for some humor out of certain members of the bureau, but to that I would just say it was a poor decision. Leave the humor to Damon and Blunt, as there were plenty of genuinely funny and gratifying moments between the two. Additionally, the adjustment bureau members are introduced far too early, dismissing any chance of curiosity as to what really is going on or why certain things are happening.
Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) and Terrance Stamp (Wanted) are respectable in their roles as adjustment bureau members, but a few too many times their lines feel contrived.
There are plenty of science-fiction/romance movies floating around out there, and I really expected this one to hit a homerun for both genres. Surprisingly, though, the romance aspect was the one compensating for the substance and thrills which the sci-fi aspect failed to produce. It was too much of a fairy tale, too predictable, too forgettable. Nolfi had the correct premise, something that was interesting and gripping, but the execution was just a little off.
Going into movies like these, you expect nothing less than something that sticks with you after leaving the theatre. Besides the excellent performances from Blunt and Damon, along with a somewhat inspiring but too familiar of a theme, The Adjustment Bureau is just another pretty good movie. It could have been more, and I really wish it had been.
Daniel Feingold can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.