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Title: The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Matt Damon | ... | David Norris | |
| Emily Blunt | ... | Elise Sellas | |
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Lisa Thoreson | ... | Suburban Mom |
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Florence Kastriner | ... | Suburban Mom |
| Michael Kelly | ... | Charlie Traynor | |
| Phyllis MacBryde | ... | Suburban Neighbor | |
| Natalie Carter | ... | Suburban Neighbor (as Natalie E. Carter) | |
| Chuck Scarborough | ... | Chuck Scarborough | |
| Jon Stewart | ... | Jon Stewart | |
|
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Gregory P. Hitchen | ... | U.S. Coast Guard Officer (as Capt. Gregory P. Hitchen) |
| Darrell Lenormand | ... | Upstate Farmer (as Darrell James LeNormand) | |
| Michael Bloomberg | ... | Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg) | |
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Kar | ... | Political Consultant |
| RJ Konner | ... | Political Consultant | |
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Susan D. Michaels | ... | Reporter |
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 (Matt 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. Written by Universal Pictures
I'm starting to like this new genre of science fiction romance that "The Adjustment Bureau" falls into. Hollywood seems to have learned how to add a significant amount thought to their films, just with their usual dumbing-down procedures.
David (Matt Damon) has met Elise (Emily Blunt) and based on one spontaneous kiss and one flirtatious encounter, he's determined that she's the one he's supposed to be with. They have other plans. Oh yes, the indefinable, ambiguous pronoun "they". Just to keep a sense of the intrigue afloat, I'll define "they" as the men of "The Adjustment Bureau". What they want, we don't really know. But David wants the girl—a beautiful girl—but just a girl nonetheless.
For us, questions of free will, fate, soul mates, success and pre-defined destinies abound. All running around an intricate maze of New York architecture. Although intricate might not be the best word because there's nothing here for us to figure out; the film lays everything out well in advance, and over and over again in case you missed it. At least there's intelligence to the story but unfortunately no subtlety.
"The Adjustment Bureau" has pretty city-scapes and pretty people playing more profound characters than pretty people usually play. As with most genre-mixing films, there is something for everybody. I got the intelligence that is usually sorely missing from big-budget Hollywood action films although I could have done with a bit more respect.