Romance in Hollywood films is an interesting thing; most films attempt to feature it in some way (however peripheral to the main action) in their never-ending quest to hit all the demographics and appeal to all audiences. This means that in many (I would actually say most) of these films the romance comes across as perfunctory, only providing an easy source of added stakes and a bit of cheap satisfaction at the end as the couple is inevitably reunited. Films that feature a romantic relationship as the primary action face an even greater challenge, asking the audience to buy that these two actors are genuine human beings worth caring about and worthy of each other’s affections. All this is to say that The Adjustment Bureau, directed by first timer George Nolfi and starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, is a film that succeeds largely based on the genuine chemistry of its two leads, lending a light touch to material that would seem to call for the dark and paranoid style of many other Philip K. Dick adaptations.
As The Adjustment Bureau opens, we see Matt Damon’s would-be senator David Norris preparing for a concession speech after a difficult and scandal plagued election. While reading over his notes in the men’s room he encounters Emily Blunt, a dancer named Elise, who has been hiding in one of the stalls for her own reasons. They have what would be, in a more generic film, a meet-cute, but the two stars combined with Nolfi’s sharp dialogue sketch the beginnings of a relationship that feels warm and funny and real. When Norris runs into her several years later and rekindles the spark of attraction, he feels it must be meant to be. However, as we soon learn, things are not that simple. He comes into contact with “The Adjustment Bureau”, a shadowy group of men running around in porkpie hats altering people’s lives to fit “The Plan”, which is dictated by “The Chairman.” When they inform Norris that his infatuation with Elise is in violation of the plan, and that they intend to stop it, Norris must make a choice of whether to follow “the Plan” or to follow his own heart.
The plot would seem to lend itself to many intriguing possibilities; a sort of Manchurian Candidate meets Dark City tale that allows for many breathless chases and many philosophical underpinnings. Interestingly enough the film opts to focus almost exclusively on the romance aspect of the plot. All of the film’s philosophical and metaphysical quandaries are filtered through the question of whether or not these two people can be happily united. Luckily the central relationship is developed extremely well, allowing us to both believe in these characters and root for their relationship to survive the odds. Even still, the narrow focus means that sometimes the film sometimes seems to be lacking in dramatic stakes; with the reveal of essentially a godlike figure and beings that seem to have supernatural powers to bend time and space, it would seem that there would be some more pertinent questions to raise other than “will these crazy kids make it?” This is reinforced by the relative harmlessness of the agents of the Bureau. None of them seem to be malicious; indeed they mostly seem to be weary men simply trying to accomplish a job. This is somewhat refreshing; a nice break from the faceless, generically ominous bad guy in a suit from many other films, but it makes for a film that often feels feather-light.
The Adjustment Bureau is a refreshing change of pace for a Philip K. Dick adaptation. Instead of going the self-serious, dark route, the film takes the weighty themes and ideas that Dick wrote about and filters them into a breezy tale of romance. While this sometimes undercuts the tension of the plot, the chemistry of Damon and Blunt lends gravity to an otherwise lightweight film. As per Hollywood’s usual formula the film prizes romance against all odds, but when the romance is this well realized and the stakes this metaphysically intriguing then it’s easy to go along with it.
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