The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

The affair between a politician and a ballerina is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart.

Director:

George Nolfi

Writers:

George Nolfi (screenplay), Philip K. Dick (short story "Adjustment Team")

Stars:

Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Michael Kelly

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Damon	...	David Norris
Emily Blunt	...	Elise Sellas
Michael Kelly	...	Charlie Traynor
Anthony Mackie	...	Harry Mitchell
John Slattery	...	Richardson
Lisa Thoreson	...	Suburban Mom
Florence Kastriner	...	Suburban Mom
Phyllis MacBryde	...	Suburban Neighbor
Natalie Carter	...	Suburban Neighbor (as Natalie E. Carter)
Chuck Scarborough	...	Himself
Jon Stewart	...	Himself
Kar	...	Political Consultant
RJ Konner	...	Political Consultant
Susan D. Michaels	...	Reporter
Gregory P. Hitchen	...	U.S. Coast Guard Officer (as Capt. Gregory P. Hitchen)

Storyline

Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York the only woman he's ever loved. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) - a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself - the men of The Adjustment Bureau - who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.

---

Plot Keywords:

politician | fate | bus | ballet dancer | hat | 

---

Taglines:

They stole his future. Now he's taking it back.

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 2011 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Bureau de contrôle

Filming Locations:

Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,395,715 (UK) (4 March 2011)

Gross:

$62,453,315 (USA) (20 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Media Rights Capital, Gambit Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo played God in the original cut of the film. According to Shohreh Aghdashloo herself in a Los Angeles Times interview, she was replaced by the studio because she was born a Muslim and the studio wasn't ready for Muslim to portray God in a movie. Her exact quote: "Oh, my God, I loved that role. As actors, we all know we're at the mercy of the editing table, but not to this extent, never had I experienced it. The director, George Nolfi, decided I should play God. Everything went great until I got a call from the director who was asking to have lunch with me. He was on the verge of crying. He said, the distribution company believes that you cannot play this role....That's right, although if I'm asked what religion I am, I say I was born a Muslim. I don't introduce myself as a Muslim woman, but I guess the distribution company put the dots together and felt it's too early for this."

---

Goofs

The newspaper that reports Elise's dance career and engagement repeats the same paragraphs several times, taking up space in order to fill the article.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Podium Announcer: Let's welcome my favorite alumnus, and the next Senator from the State of New York, David Norris.
David Norris: [to crowd] Thank you! Thank you! Well hi there. My name David Norris, and I'd like to be the next Senator from the State of New York.
Podium Announcer: [to baby] Hey there, what's your name?
David Norris: [to reporters] I'm going to go through Yonkers, I'm going to go door-to-door and take the city that way...

---

Crazy Credits

Special Thanks: The Chairman

---

Connections

Features The Daily Show (1996)

---

Soundtracks

FEVER (ADAM FREELAND EXTENDED REMIX)
Written by John Davenport and Eddie Cooley
Performed by Sarah Vaughan
Courtesy of the Verve Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A well made and more thoughtful film that you might be expecting

What if your own free will was nothing of the sort. Every move you made was in accordance with a master plan, any kinks or imperfections "adjusted" by persons unknown, constantly on hand to ensure you stayed on track.

Many people might assume that their lives are quite the reverse, with all the bad decisions they have made, anything resembling a master plan is unlikely.

David Norris (Matt Damon) is a rising New York Congressman with his heart set on becoming a young Senator, everything is going according to plan until he meets the beautiful quirky ballerina, Elise (Emily Blunt) in a mens restroom.

Elise inspires him in ways that he could not have imagined but any longer term relationship is not part of the plan the "Men in Grey" have mapped out. They do not like their careful plans messed with, ever. Although they do get to wear Trilby's, which not only look cool but are also a necessary tool for their profession.

The many scenes between Blunt and Damon are very believable and natural, real chemistry in action and is fun to watch. Blunt is a breath of fresh air in the congressman's driven life, living more in the moment than he possibly ever did before.

Just when you think the film will descend into a smorgasbord of special effects, the story goes into the opposite direction. A thoughtful and character driven piece about choices and the ripple effect each path taken, or not taken, has on your own and other peoples lives.

Terence Stamp, still with one of the best voices in the business, together with Anthony Mackie & John Slattery, do good work as the agents attempting to get everything back on track.

There are some good lines and Damon can play an aspiring politician with ease, no doubt he could be one in real life if he chose to move in that direction.

The central question of defining who we are by the choices we make is explored and it is good to see another movie messing with our heads, if only just a little. If we have no free will are we still the people we thought we were, very deep but don't panic, the film does not get too caught up in this existentialism.

The action is limited, there are no cars exploding and the body count is non existent, a refreshing change from most modern films. A film that could have been made in the 50's from a story point of view, although actually based on a short story by Phillip K Dick of "Do Androids dream of electric sheep" fame, the inspiration for "Blade Runner".

Production values are good, although not of the highest flight. The costumes worn by the adjustment police are rather dodgy and look like guys with spare motorcycle helmets sprayed black. Not what you would expect in a big budget Hollywood movie, a small point but quite noticeable.

Similar to many films of this genre, the movie has to decide how to wrap everything up neatly. The final reel is perhaps a little disappointing but that depends on how you would want the film to end, somehow it feels that the easier option was taken.

Summary

A well made and more thoughtful film than you might be expecting.

Well acted with a believable romance, a light dusting of Sci-Fi and a great story. "Inception" lite perhaps, which is certainly recommendation enough for any film.

http://julesmoviereviews.blogspot.com/