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The Adjustment Bureau

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The Adjustment Bureau
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Nolfi
Screenplay byGeorge Nolfi
Produced byGeorge Nolfi
Chris Moore
Michael Hackett
Bill Carraro
Isa Dick Hackett
Joel Viertel
StarringMatt Damon
Emily Blunt
CinematographyJohn Toll
Edited byJay Rabinowitz
Music byThomas Newman
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • March 4, 2011 (2011-03-04)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Box office$34,697,755[1]

The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 American thriller film loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "Adjustment Team".[2] The film was written and directed by George Nolfi and stars Matt Damon[3] and Emily Blunt.[4] The cast also includes Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, and Terence Stamp.[5][6] It contains a score by Thomas Newman, with two songs by Richard Ashcroft ("Future's Bright" for the opening sequence; "Are You Ready" for the closing credits.)

Plot

David Norris (Matt Damon) is a young, charismatic politician running for the United States Senate. In 2006, he loses his early lead and is rehearsing the concession speech in the hotel bathroom, where he meets a woman hiding in one of the stalls. Having overheard his speech, she encourages him to be more original and honest. Immediately attracted to each other, they kiss before being interrupted, and Norris leaves to make the speech. Inspired by the woman, Norris goes off script and makes an honest speech that is widely praised and makes him an early favorite for the 2010 Senate race.

Later, a mysterious man sits at a park bench and is instructed by an apparent coworker to ensure that Norris spills his coffee on his shirt by 7:05 AM. The man on the bench falls asleep and fails in this task. Norris takes the bus to work and by chance again meets Elise (Emily Blunt), the woman from the bathroom, who introduces herself and gives him her phone number before she leaves. Norris is now working at a venture capital firm run by his old friend and campaign manager, and arrives to work early. He is surprised to see his boss is frozen motionless and being examined by strange men in suits. They chase him, and no matter where he runs they catch up to him. Norris is taken to a warehouse, and Richardson (John Slattery) decides to tell him about the Adjustment Bureau. They have a plan for Norris and are determined to guide his life and make him stick to that plan. The plan was made by someone they refer to as "the Chairman". They warn that if he tells anyone about them, even accidentally, he will be "reset", effectively lobotomized. The plan called for him to meet Elise only once, and he is told to forget her and they destroy the paper with her phone number. Harry Mitchell (Anthony Mackie) feels responsible, having failed to intercept Norris, and tells him more about the Adjustment Bureau, and his role as a "caseworker," who is sometimes referred to as an angel.[7][8]

David fails to find Elise despite his attempts over the next three years. He rides the same bus every day hoping to see her again. He finally does see her one day, and they are able to reconnect. The Bureau immediately tries to stop him from building his relationship with her and causes their schedules to bring them apart. David races across town, fighting the Bureau's special abilities to "control his choices" to ensure he will meet Elise again. The Bureau is able to use doors to travel great lengths across New York City during this chase.

Richardson does some research and discovers that David and Elise were meant to be together in an earlier version of the plan. He tells Harry that it wasn't his fault that this mess took place. Harry speculates on whether or not the plan is always correct. Meanwhile, David and Elise spend an evening at a large party, and they connect when David tells her why he decided to become a politician after the loss of his mother and brother. David and Elise spend the night together and openly express their strong bond the next morning.

The Bureau decides to have Thompson (Terence Stamp) take authority on the adjustment of David Norris. He takes David to a warehouse and David argues that he has the right to choose his own path. Thompson lets him go, and he runs to Elise's ballet recital. Thompson follows and reveals that not only will David's future as President of the United States be ruined if he stays with Elise, but her future as a dancer will also be diminished. To make a point, he uses his adjustment power to cause Elise to fall and sprain her ankle. David, overwhelmed with his own future in jeopardy and faced with hurting Elise in the long run, leaves her alone at the hospital.

Eleven months later, David is running for election again and sees an announcement of Elise's imminent wedding in the newspaper. Harry, feeling guilty over earlier events, gets in contact with David. Harry reveals that Thompson had exaggerated the negative consequencies of David and Elise's possible relationship, and agrees to teach David how to use the doors so he can stop Elise's wedding. He gives David his hat, which empowers David to use the doors. David plots his course and begins his mission.

David finds Elise in the bathroom of the courthouse where she is to be wed. Initially furious and hurt at seeing David after his apparent desertion, Elise is shocked when David reveals the Bureau's existence to her. They are chased by the Bureau across New York, using the doors as shortcuts, while the bureau uses the plan to track them. When David and Elise find themselves on Liberty Island, David decides to find the Chairman to end the chase. Elise feels she is losing her mind and almost backs out of the scheme, but finds the conviction to follow David one more time.

David turns the door handle to the left, which Harry warned him that only his kind was supposed to do, and he enters the Bureau headquarters. The couple is chased through the Bureau until they are trapped on a rooftop above New York, and they embrace and admit thier love to each other, assuming the worst is about to happen. When they release each other, the Bureau members surrounding them have disappeared. Thompson appears, only to be relieved of duty by Harry, who tells David and Elise that the Chairman decided to change the plan for the two. They walk off together into the city, together and with their futures recharted.

Cast

Production

The story is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story "Adjustment Team", and features a smooth-talking congressman whose political future is thrown in doubt by uncontrollable events and the arrival of a mysterious woman in his life.[4] In early drafts, the character Norris was changed from a real estate salesman, as in the short story, to an up-and-coming politician.[9]

Media Rights Capital funded the film and then auctioned it to distributors, with Universal Studios putting in the winning bid for $62 million.[4][10] Variety reported Damon's involvement on February 24, 2009,[3] and Blunt's on July 14, 2009.[4] It was released on March 4, 2011.[11]

Nolfi worked with John Toll as his cinematographer. Shots were planned in advance with storyboards but often changed when shooting to fit the conditions on the day. The visual plan for the film was to keep the camerawork smooth using a dolly or crane and have controlled formal shots when the Adjustment Bureau was in full control, with things becoming more loose and using hand-held cameras when the story becomes less controlled.[12]

Brooks Brothers provided costumes for the film.

Release

The film had its world premiere on February 14, 2011, at the Ziegfeld Theatre on 141 West 54th Street in New York City. Writer/director George Nolfi was in attendance along with the cast, including Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.[13]

Reception

Critics generally gave the film positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 70% based on 192 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5 out of 10.[14] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of a total four stars, describing the movie as "a smart and good movie that could have been a great one if it had been a little more daring. I suspect the filmmakers were reluctant to follow its implications too far."[15]

In its opening weekend in the United States (March 4-6, 2011), The Adjustment Bureau grossed $21,157,730, which was the second most of any film that weekend behind the film Rango. Its total worldwide gross is $34,697,755.[1]

Religious themes

The film is said to have Judeo-Christian theological implications, such as an omnipotent and omniscient God,[16][17] as well as the concepts of free will and predestination.[18][19] Moreover, the figure in the movie known as the Chairman is God,[20] while his caseworkers are angels.[7][8] The director of the film, George Nolfi, stated that the "intention of this film is to raise questions."[21]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Adjustment Bureau". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  2. ^ "Damon Set For The Adjustment Bureau". Empire. February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Michael Fleming (February 24, 2009). "Studios weigh star packages". Variety. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d Michael Fleming (July 14, 2009). "Emily Blunt boards 'Bureau'". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  5. ^ Justin Kroll (October 12, 2009). "Ruivivar added to 'Adjustment Bureau'". Variety. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  6. ^ Marc Graser (August 27, 2009). "Thesp makes 'Adjustment' for Universal". Variety. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  7. ^ a b "'Adjustment Bureau': The surreal feels real". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2007–10–18. Are you angels?" he asks Richardson. "We've been called lots of things," is the reply. "Think of us as case workers." {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ a b "Matt Damon Defies God's Insidious Bureaucracy in The Adjustment Bureau". D Magazine. Retrieved 2007–10–18. You see, "the Chairman" (as the film calls the being responsible for managing the entire universe) has dispatched "case workers" (angels — without wings, but with magical hats) to keep humanity moving according to his carefully choreographed plan. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ Todd McCarthy (February 25, 2011). "Movie review: "The Adjustment Bureau"". Reuters.
  10. ^ Kaufman, Amy (March 3, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Rango' expected to shoot down the competition". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  11. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau". Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  12. ^ Steve Weintraub (February 26, 2011). "Writer-Director George Nolfi Exclusive Interview THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU". MP3
  13. ^ "Universal Pictures presents the world premiere of The Adjustment Bureau at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City Monday, February 14, 2011". CNBC. February 8, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  15. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau". Roger Ebert. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  16. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau". Catholic News Service. Retrieved 2007–10–18. Though this is certainly not a film for young people -- in addition to the quasi-theological issues underlying the story, David and Elise's liaison becomes physical prematurely -- the metaphysical elements of the plot can be interpreted by mature viewers in a way that squares with Judeo-Christian faith. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. ^ "Finally, an Action Thriller for Religious Thinkers". The Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2007–10–18. Even rarer are those films which tackle theological dilemmas, like the age-old apparent contradiction of free will vs. determinism. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all believe in an all-powerful and all-knowing God who controls everything that happens in the world. What, then, is the role of our own decisions? Does man truly possess free will, or does he only have the "appearance" of free will? Did I truly decide of my own free will to marry my wife, or did God orchestrate a complex set of circumstances which forced my hand and caused me to fall in love with this wonderful woman in order to fulfill His unknowable Divine plan? This is precisely the theme of the new film, The Adjustment Bureau (Grace Films Media, now playing. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will, Matt Damon Style". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2007–10–18. How much power exactly do the agents of fate hold over someone's life? Can free will ever win over fate? And is it free will or fate that orchestrates action? Such are the questions that come to mind throughout George Nolfi's newest film, "The Adjustment Bureau," based on the short story by Phillip K. Dick. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will, Matt Damon Style". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2007–10–18. Free Will vs. Predestination: What's Matt Damon Got to Do with It? "It's not this or that," responded Detweiler. "Gamers understand this very well, this tension between predestination and free will. It seems like they may be able to live better with that tension." {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Does God Change Our Minds, or Do We Change God's?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2007–10–18. The Chairman -- i.e., God -- has written the stories of our lives and the Big Story of the world. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will, Matt Damon Style". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2007–10–18. "The intention of this film is to raise questions – that's what art should do," commented Nolfi about his soon-to-be released motion picture at an earlier Pasadena screening. And that, Mr. Nolfi, it definitely did. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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