The Adjustment Bureau

As per the poll results,[which seven whole people participated in!] I hit up 'The Adjustment Bureau' for my matinee today. I made my return to Metopolis at Metrotown, after seeing the last couple of movies at Tinseltown, mostly 'cause movies there are $4, that right FOUR dollars cheaper, but I had a free ticket with my Scene card, so to Metrotown I went!

Now I know that 'The Adjustment Bureau' is billed as a thriller, but really and truly this is romance masquerading as a thriller, and it does a damn good job of it too.

The premise lies around David Norris [Matt Damon] a young politician who is running for the senate, but is undone by some antics from his college days. While in the mensroom composing his concession speech he meets Elise [Emily Blunt] a wedding crasher who's come to hide from security. The chemistry is instantaneous, and they flirt unabashedly culminating in, for David at least, a life-altering kiss. Instead of giving the approved speech he improvises and goes on about how everything about him and his campaign is carefully crafted to have the most positive impact on the voting public. I can only imagine that everything he says is completely true, especially in the incomprehensible [to this Canadian, at least] American electoral system. Instead of harpooning his political career, this honesty makes him more popular than ever...which it turns out was all a part of the Plan.

Now we come to the sci-fi-Philip K. Dick inspired part of the story. It turns out that while most of us believe that we make our own decisions and can trust to fate, there's actually a group of well dressed men in fedoras who make sure our 'fate' is as it should be. Not affecting every little detail of our lives, but if something starts to go off track, they jump in and adjust it, so that we get back on Plan. Sounds a little ridiculous right? I grant you that, but this film manages to pull it off.

Needless to say where we should maybe be concerned that this politician is being manipulated by the bureau and it's shadowy leader 'The Chairman' all we really care about is if he gets the girl, well, and if the girl gets him. I know I mentioned it before, but it still remains, the chemistry between Blunt and Damon is fantastic. There is an undeniable pull between them, and apparently, even though the Plan says they shouldn't be, chance keeps putting them together. When they're together there's an amazing magnetism and when they're apart the longing for the other is evident. I've always been a Matt Damon fan, but I can't really say I've ever seen him as a more romantic character. Although it could be that he just needed the right co-star. Emily Blunt is quirky and charming, and she brings out the best in Damon just as her character brings out the best in David.

In the climax of the movie when things come to a head, David is racing through New York using the Bureau's fancy hat travelling system [I know, it's silly, but at least they look good, right?] and brings a confused Elise with him. When it comes down to it, and she's faced with the decision to either follow David, despite the insanity of the situation, or returning to her life without him, you know the inevitable answer. There's no way one can go without the other.

Like I said, a romance masquerading as a thriller. Despite that it was very well done, extremely well acted, by both the leads and the supporting actors. There were also some nice touches that leant to the realism of the story, New Yorkers stopping David on the street and interviews with the always awesome Jon Stewart. These little things make up for the plot holes and varying tone in the film, so that you don't really notice them, well until you think about them afterwards anyways.

That's all for this week, and I promise I'll get my Feb trailer round up posted soon! Until next Monday!