Blu-ray Review: THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU - Love, Romance, Fate & Men In Hats
The film has a soft heart. It tells us that the right kiss from the right person at the right moment can change your life. Which it can.
I sometimes think that the only science fiction books that get read in Hollywood are written by Philip K. Dick. He certainly seems to be the only SF writer who has a decent number of his works made into films, the Stephen King of the sci-fi film genre. The Adjustment Bureau available on Blu-ray and DVD from this week is, in case you hadnt already guessed, based on a Dick short story. Its called Adjustment Team from 1954 and you can read a facsimile of its original magazine appearance here. If you do trouble to read it, you will doubtless not be surprised by the differences between written text and filmed adaptation. The main characters name and status have changed, his talking dog sidekick has been replaced by a kindly black man in a hat (make of that what you will) and the story is, suddenly, a love/romance one. But ah, theres the rub, the friction that exists between director George Nolfis dreams of being dangerous and challenging, given pause by the Universal's need to be friendly and familiar. It must also be said that the films marketing really didn't help and the TV adverts deliberately made The Adjustment Bureau look like an action/chase movie when, in fact, its a fantasy/ romance (Im sorry, purists, theres no hint of science in this fiction now). 
Then there was the, frankly, appalling cover art which, at least in the UK, proudly sported Total Films doubtless, entirely spontaneous blurb proclaiming the film Bourne Meets Inception which, of course, the marketing people felt compelled to use in all the UK advertising. Bourne Meets Inception. Really? Does Matt Damons character kill loads of people? No. Is he fighting a one-man battle against a ruthless, faceless power that will stop at nothing to kill him? No, they want to help him. Does his girlfriend get killed? Nope. Okay, so, Inception Is the plot ferociously complex? Not really, you do need to pay attention, though. Is it a redemption story? Oddly, for a Hollywood movie, no. Does it switch between levels of reality? Ah, well, sort of, yes. Right, so, like Inception, its quite clever and plays around with reality, but the only similarity it has with Bourne is Matt Damon and, I imagine, he would be quite insulted if people really expected him to play every role like Jason Bourne. 
Alright, so, enough about what the film isnt What is it? It is certainly an engaging attempt to tell a very traditional story in a non-contemporary way. I imagine, in an alternate universe, Frank Capra could have made almost exactly this same film in the 1940s. At least the hats that The Adjusters wear would have been in period and not as anachronistic as they here appear. The film begins with an unlikely protagonist, since Matt Damon is a politician called David Norris. Is it possible to be sympathetic towards a politician? Ah, but its okay, Norris first act is to lose his election; so hes a rubbish politician. Thats alright, then. On election night he meets Elise (played by a radiant Emily Blunt) and falls instantly head over heels. She inspires him to start telling the truth in his concession speech and that, then, is the key moment in his life. Four men in hats watch this unfold with a sense of a job well done. They have ensured the future. All that needs to happen now is that they ensure David and Elise never meet again. Well, there wouldnt be much of a movie if they succeeded, now would there? 
The film has a soft heart. It tells us that the right kiss from the right person at the right moment can change your life. Which it can. We humans are fairly simple beings and once an idea such as true love embeds in our heads, theres really no shifting it. Damon and Blunt are magical together, there being a real and natural chemistry between which means we also genuinely believe in their love and that Damon will defy the universe for her. This is proper, traditional romance, not post-modern pastiche or comedic parody, and the film is all the better for it. But The Adjustment Bureau also has a soft head. It is implied that these characters who oversee us and influence us are Angels and The Plan is written by God, with the best interests of everyone written into it. That is a stupendously simplified view of Fate and Destiny which, I suppose, I could go along with, if these Angels actually understood the people they are overseeing. But they dont. They cant, otherwise theyd know that putting obstructions in the way of David and Elises relationship is only going to make its consummation all the more inevitable. Were simple creatures, but were also stubborn! The Men In Hats are a lovely, simple idea. They have a sort of diplomatic immunity to the laws of physics and can turn any door into a door to someone else. That was a nice idea when Pixar used it in Monsters Inc (2001) and it bears expansion and development here.These are people with awesome supernatural powers but who are bound by bureaucratic red tape and hierarchy, just like you and me (without the supernatural powers, in your case). 
As such, the frustration felt particularly by Case Manager, Richards (played delightfully by John Slattery) is palpable. He has to ensure everyone sticks to The Plan but it is above his pay grade to know why. Hes strictly Middle Management and, when his repeated attempts to keep Norris on-plan fail, he has to call in Senior Management, in the form of Thompson (Terence Stamp, giving one of those killer cameos he specialises in these days). When the film reaches its inevitable conclusion after, I must say, rambling around for a good reel more than it needs to, I, for one, was left with a few questions about the credibility of what Id seen (and, yes, credibility is essential even in a fantasy Id say especially in a fantasy) and about whether surrendering ones free will to an omnipotent benign organisation would really be such a bad thing. It also left me with a niggling suspicion that I maybe shouldnt trust people in hats. The Adjustment Bureau is available on Blu-ray now.