Who controls our fate? Can we make our own destiny or are we just puppets of some higher power? How far would you go to create your own destiny? These are some of the questions raised by the new sci-fi romance The Adjustment Bureau.
The movie starts out like a political thriller, with a young candidate, David Norris (Matt Damon), favored to win a NY Senate seat but losing out in the end. Right before David delivers his concession speech to supporters, he meets a ballerina named Elise (Emily Blunt). Though they feel an instant mutual attraction, they quickly part ways. All the while, men in dark suits and hats are following David's every move.
Jump to a few years in the future. The suit tracking David makes an error, which leads to David meeting Elise again (this time on a bus). David then arrives at work and finds the suit guys brain-scanning his partner. The men work for the titular Bureau and make minor "adjustments" so that humanity follows "the Chairman's" plan for the world. If David reveals the suits to anyone, even by accident, they will erase his mind. The suits have the power to walk through doors and arrive at any other door of the city (shades of The Matrix Reloaded) to make sure no one deviates from the Chairman's plan.
David, determined to find Elise again, rides that same bus for three years attempting to take matters into his own hands. Once they meet again by chance, he does everything to make sure the suits do not separate them again, but eventually they send in the big guns. Elise is injured and David is told that if he stays with her, neither of them will ever achieve their dreams. David must decide whether or not he is willing to sacrifice both of their dreams for love. What would you risk for what you truly desire?
The Adjustment Bureau can be heavy-handed in its treatment of the themes of fate and destiny, but in the end, the movie is about the choices we make. Do we have free will or are our choices predetermined? What drives our choices? Is it love or is it the struggle to reach our potential in life? When it comes to love, the choices we make become much more complicated. Whether one believes in fate or free will, the point the movie makes is that love is a powerful force.
The chemistry between Damon and Blunt helps reinforce that point. And even though the chase scenes can go on too long — were the filmmakers trying to fill some action-sequence quota? — The Adjustment Bureau mixes genres successfully enough to leave most audiences satisfied.
Upohar Haroon won the chance to tap her inner Ebert when her husband, Matthew Peterson, placed a successful bid for the "Be a movie reviewer" item in the 2010 CL Holiday Auction for the benefit of The Children's Home.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.