‘Adjustment Bureau’ starts strong but falters at finish
Matt Damon and Emily Blunt fall in love and flee shadowy figures in the immensely stylish romantic thriller “The Adjustment Bureau.” If only the ending lived up to the build-up.
Damon and Blunt have crazy, sexy chemistry from the very first moment they meet, in the gleaming men’s room of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, of all places. They’re a real treat to watch together – he’s reserved and sort of smart-alecky, she’s quick-witted and flirty – and the contrast in their appearances and personalities just works.
You want them to end up with each other, despite the many elaborate and creative obstacles that thrust themselves in the couple’s path.
Instead, writer-director George Nolfi’s film takes all that dazzle and wraps things up with a fizzle: Following intelligent debates about the nature of free will, “The Adjustment Bureau” ends in an overly simplistic, heavy-handed religious allegory that leaves you wondering, “Really? Is that it?”
That it’s based on a short story by Philip K. Dick – whose writing has been the inspiration for such groundbreaking sci-fi films as “Blade Runner” and “Minority Report” – represents even more of a letdown. Dick’s dark, paranoid vision sadly goes soft, despite the beautiful, stark cinematography.
Damon stars as David Norris, an up-and-coming congressman who’s on the verge of losing his bid for the U.S. Senate. While practicing his concession speech in the men’s bathroom, where he thinks he’s alone, he runs into Blunt’s character, Elise.
He’s a kid who grew up without much family in a rough part of Brooklyn; she’s a sophisticated, British ballet dancer. But their attraction is palpable; they kiss impetuously, and then she runs off.
As it turns out, that was the only time David was ever supposed to see Elise. His life – all our lives, according to the film – are managed by The Adjustment Bureau, men in tailored suits and fedoras who make sure everyone and everything follows a predetermined plan.
When David learns from Richardson (played with perfect, “Mad Men”-style cool by John Slattery), one of the adjusters assigned to his case, that he and Elise can never be together, he’s naturally more inspired than ever to track her down.
And so David and Elise hook up and go on the run, using the Adjustment Bureau’s own tricks for being everywhere and seeing everything all at once. Yes, this involves wearing silly, magical hats and running through myriad, secret doors, but it also makes exciting leaps in time and space – and asks us to do the same – as the couple dashes from one portal to the next through hidden passageways all over New York City, “Inception”-style.
But then “The Adjustment Bureau” gives in to the saddest, softest fate of all. David and Elise – and we as viewers – deserve more.