Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? Matt Damon stars in the thriller The Adjustment Bureau as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he's ever loved across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt)-a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself-the men of The Adjustment Bureau-who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path…or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her. The Adjustment Bureau is written for the screen and directed by George Nolfi (writer of Ocean's Twelve, co-writer of The Bourne Ultimatum). It is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick (“Total Recall,” “Minority Report” and “Blade Runner”).
Genre(s): Romance, Thriller
Rating: 7.4/10/10 (1,917 votes votes)
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Universal Pictures
MPAA: PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image.
Director(s): George Nolfi
Producer(s):
Michael Bederman – co-producer
Bill Carraro – producer
Isa Dick Hackett – executive producer
Jonathan Gordon – executive producer
Michael Hackett – producer
Chris Moore – producer
George Nolfi – producer
Joel Viertel – co-producer
Writer(s):
George Nolfi – (screenplay)
Philip K. Dick – (short story "Adjustment Team")
Cast:
Matt Damon – David Norris
Lisa Thoreson – Suburban Mom
Florence Kastriner – Suburban Mom
Phyllis McBryde – Suburban Neighbor
Natalie Carter – Suburban Neighbor (as Natalie E. Carter)
Chuck Scarborough – Himself
Jon Stewart – Himself
Capt. Gregory P. Hitchen – U.S. Coast Guard Officer
Darrell Lenormand – Upstate Farmer
Kar – Political Consultant
Music: Thomas Newman
Tagline: Fight for your fate.
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Aside from the earlier Dick adaptation “Paycheck,” “The AdjustmentBureau” qualifies as the least sci-fi looking epic that you will see.Nevertheless, it concerns a theme that obsessed Dick throughout hislife: alternate realities which are sometimes referred to as simulacra.Damon plays a young, single, unruly Brooklyn-born politician DavidNorris who falls in love by happy coincidence with a beautiful dancer.They meet in the men’s room at an elite motel. Elise Sellas (EmilyBlunt of “Gnomeo & Juliet”) is hiding from motel security because shetried to crash a wedding. David Norris struggles to collect histhoughts for a speech that he must give conceding an election to hisopponent. Initially, he asks if anybody is in the restroom. This is thekind of rest room where the toilet stall doors resemble front doors.When nobody replies, he mulls over the wording of his speech. Elisesurprises him at the last moment when she appears and they strike up aconversation that leads to a kiss. No sooner have they locked lips thanDavid’s long-suffering campaign manager Charlie Traynor (Michael Kellyof “Law Abiding Citizen”) walks in and catches them as Elise walks out.Afterward, David concedes defeat with a speech about the absurd lengthsthat his campaign went to so that he would entice voters. He talksabout the choice of shoes. The shoes have to look nice enough toattract the upper elite without alienating the middle class voters.Although he lost the election, David has proved so charismatic that hewon’t be lost in the shuffle when candidates scrimmage for the nextelection.