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The Adjustment Bureau

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The Adjustment Bureau
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Nolfi
Screenplay byGeorge Nolfi
Produced byGeorge Nolfi
Chris Moore
Michael Hackett
Bill Carraro
Isa Dick Hackett
Joel Viertel
StarringMatt Damon
Emily Blunt
CinematographyJohn Toll
Edited byJay Rabinowitz
Music byThomas Newman
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • March 4, 2011 (2011-03-04)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50.2 million[1]
Box office$127,869,379[1]

The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 American romantic action thriller film loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "Adjustment Team".[2] The film was written and directed by George Nolfi and stars Matt Damon[3] and Emily Blunt.[4] The cast also includes Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, and Terence Stamp.[5][6] The score was composed by Thomas Newman, with two songs by Richard Ashcroft ("Future's Bright" for the opening sequence; "Are You Ready?" for the closing credits).

Plot

In 2006, Brooklyn Congressman David Norris unsuccessfully runs for the United States Senate. While rehearsing his concession speech, David meets Elise Sellas. Inspired by her, David delivers an unusually candid speech that is well-received, making him a favorite for the 2010 Senate race.

A month later, David prepares for a new job. At Madison Square Park, near David's home, Harry Mitchell receives an assignment from Richardson, his boss: ensure David spills coffee on his shirt by 7:05 AM so he misses his bus. Mitchell falls asleep and misses David, who encounters Elise on the bus and gets her phone number. David arrives at work to find his friend Charlie Traynor frozen in time and being examined by unfamiliar men in suits. David attempts to escape, but is incapacitated and taken to a warehouse. Richardson explains he and his men are from the Adjustment Bureau. They ensure people's lives proceed as determined by "the plan", a complex document Richardson attributes to "the Chairman".[7][8] The Bureau confiscates and destroys the note that contains Elise's phone number, and David is warned that if he ever reveals the existence of the Bureau to anyone else, he will be "reset"—akin to being lobotomized—and that he is not meant to meet Elise again.

For the next three years David rides the same bus hoping to see Elise. He finally encounters her and they reconnect; he learns that she dances for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. The Bureau tries to stop him from building their relationship by causing their schedules to separate them. David races across town, fighting the Bureau's abilities to "control his choices" to ensure he will meet Elise. During the chase the Bureau uses ordinary doorways to travel instantly to locations many blocks away. Senior official Thompson takes over David's adjustment and takes him to the warehouse, where David argues he has the right to choose his own path. Thompson says humanity received free will after the height of the Roman Empire, but then brought the Dark Ages upon itself. The Bureau took control again and created the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, but when free will returned in 1910 it resulted in the world wars and the Cold War, again forcing the Bureau to retake control and eliminate free will. Thompson implies that without Elise's influence David might become President of the United States and benefit the world, and warns that if he stays with her, he will ruin both of their futures. Thompson causes Elise to sprain her ankle at a performance to demonstrate his power, and David abandons her at the hospital to save them from the fate Thompson described.

Eleven months later, Charlie tells David of Elise's imminent wedding as he campaigns again. Harry contacts David via secret meetings in the rain and near water, which prevents the Bureau from tracking them. Harry reveals that Thompson exaggerated the negative consequences of David and Elise's relationship, and teaches David how to use doors to teleport, and evade the Bureau's adjustments. Just before the wedding David reaches Elise, reveals the Bureau's existence to her, and shows her how he travels through doors. The Bureau pursues them across New York City. David decides to find the Chairman to end the chase; Elise wavers briefly, but accompanies David. They enter the Bureau's offices and evade its forces.

David and Elise find themselves trapped and surrounded on the observation deck of the GE Building. They declare their love for each other and kiss before David can be reset. When they let go of each other, the Bureau members have gone. Thompson appears but is interrupted by Harry, who shows him a revised plan from the Chairman: one that is blank starting with the current moment. After commending them for showing such devotion to each other, Harry tells the couple they are free to leave. The film concludes with David and Elise walking through the streets, as Harry speculates that the Chairman's plan may be to prepare humanity so it can write its own plans.

Cast

Jon Stewart, Dan Bazile,[9] Chuck Scarborough, James Carville, Mary Matalin, Betty Liu, Jesse Jackson, Wolf Blitzer, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg all have cameos as themselves.

Production

In early drafts, the character Norris was changed from a real estate salesman, as in the short story, to an up-and-coming politician.[10]

Media Rights Capital funded the film and then auctioned it to distributors, with Universal Studios putting in the winning bid for $62 million.[4][11] Variety reported Damon's involvement on February 24, 2009,[3] and Blunt's on July 14, 2009.[4] The film was released on March 4, 2011.[12]

Nolfi worked with John Toll as his cinematographer. Shots were planned in advance with storyboards, but changed often during shooting to fit the conditions of the day. The visual plan for the film was to keep the camerawork smooth using a dolly or crane and have controlled formal shots when the Adjustment Bureau was in full control, with things becoming more loose and using hand-held cameras when the story becomes less controlled.[13]

The final scene on the "Top of the Rock" rooftop observation deck of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center was filmed four months after the rest of the film had completed shooting and has a different ending than the original.[14]

Religious themes

Some reviewers identified Abrahamic theological implications, such as an omnipotent and omniscient God,[15][16] the concepts of free will and predestination,[17][18] and elements from the descent to the underworld (a mytheme dating back at least to the story of Eurydice and Orpheus).[19] Moreover, it has been said that the Chairman represents God,[20] while his caseworkers are angels.[7][8] The director of the film, George Nolfi, stated that the "intention of this film is to raise questions."[21]

Release

Theatrical

The film had its World premiere on February 14, 2011, at the Ziegfeld Theatre on 141 West 54th Street in New York City. Writer/director George Nolfi was in attendance along with the cast, including Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.[22]

Home media

The Adjustment Bureau was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 21, 2011.[23] The film was the top selling release for its opening week.[24]

Reception

Critical response

Critics generally gave the film positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 72% based on 237 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10.[25] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, describing it as "a smart and good movie that could have been a great one, if it had been a little more daring. I suspect the filmmakers were reluctant to follow its implications too far."[26]The New York Times called the film "a fast, sure film about finding and keeping love across time and space . . . [that] has brightened the season with a witty mix of science-fiction metaphysics and old-fashioned romance."[19]

Box office

In its opening weekend in the United States (March 4–6, 2011), The Adjustment Bureau grossed $21,157,730, which was the second most of any film that weekend, behind Rango. Its total worldwide gross is $127,869,379 as of December 18, 2011.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Adjustment Bureau". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "Damon Set For The Adjustment Bureau". Empire. February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Michael Fleming (February 24, 2009). "Studios weigh star packages". Variety. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Michael Fleming (July 14, 2009). "Emily Blunt boards 'Bureau'". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  5. ^ Justin Kroll (October 12, 2009). "Ruivivar added to 'Adjustment Bureau'". Variety. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  6. ^ Marc Graser (August 27, 2009). "Thesp makes 'Adjustment' for Universal". Variety. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  7. ^ a b "'Adjustment Bureau': The surreal feels real". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2007-10-18. Are you angels?" he asks Richardson. "We've been called lots of things," is the reply. "Think of us as case workers." Cite error: The named reference "Caseworkers 1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Matt Damon Defies God's Insidious Bureaucracy in The Adjustment Bureau". D Magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-18. You see, "the Chairman" (as the film calls the being responsible for managing the entire universe) has dispatched "case workers" to keep humanity moving according to his carefully choreographed plan. Cite error: The named reference "Caseworkers 2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Hey, that's Dan Bazile up on the silver screen!". All Over Albany. March 3, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  10. ^ Todd McCarthy (February 25, 2011). "Movie review: "The Adjustment Bureau"". Reuters.
  11. ^ Kaufman, Amy (March 3, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Rango' expected to shoot down the competition". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  12. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau". Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  13. ^ Steve Weintraub (February 26, 2011). "Writer-Director George Nolfi Exclusive Interview The Adjustment Bureau". collider.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  14. ^ Williams, Ileana (March 9, 2011). "Ileana's Movie Review: The Adjustment Bureau". mix949.com. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau". Catholic News Service. Retrieved 2007-10-18. Though this is certainly not a film for young people—in addition to the quasi-theological issues underlying the story, David and Elise's liaison becomes physical prematurely—the metaphysical elements of the plot can be interpreted by mature viewers in a way that squares with Judeo-Christian faith.
  16. ^ "Finally, an Action Thriller for Religious Thinkers". The Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2007-10-18. Even rarer are those films that tackle theological dilemmas, like the age-old apparent contradiction of free will vs. determinism. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all believe in an all-powerful and all-knowing God who controls everything that happens in the World. What, then, is the role of our own decisions? Does man truly possess free will, or does he only have the "appearance" of free will? Did I truly decide of my own free will to marry my wife, or did God orchestrate a complex set of circumstances that forced my hand and caused me to fall in love with this wonderful woman in order to fulfill His unknowable Divine plan? This is precisely the theme of the new film, The Adjustment Bureau (Grace Films Media, now playing.
  17. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will, Matt Damon Style". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2007-10-18. How much power exactly do the agents of fate hold over someone's life? Can free will ever win over fate? And is it free will or fate that orchestrates action? Such are the questions that come to mind throughout George Nolfi's newest film, "The Adjustment Bureau," based on the short story by Phillip K. Dick.
  18. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will, Matt Damon Style". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2007-10-18. Free Will vs. Predestination: What's Matt Damon Got to Do with It? "It's not this or that," responded Detweiler. "Gamers understand this very well, this tension between predestination and free will. It seems like they may be able to live better with that tension."
  19. ^ a b Dargis, Manohla (March 3, 2011). "Creepy People With a Plan, and a Couple on the Run". NYT Critics' Pick. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-12. Mr. Nolfi...appears to have turned to the classics for guidance, specifically Orphée, Jean Cocteau's sublime 1949 version of the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus. From the costumes of Richardson's goggled henchmen to the way David tells Elise to hold onto him so that they can pass through otherworldly portals, Mr. Nolfi samples from Orphée to his advantage, adding a layer of pleasure for cinephiles while keeping the mood up.
  20. ^ Falsani, Cathleen (March 8, 2011). "The Adjustment Bureau: Does God Change Our Minds, or Do We Change God's?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2007-10-18. The Chairman—i.e., God—has written the stories of our lives and the Big Story of the World.
  21. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will, Matt Damon Style". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2007-10-18. "The intention of this film is to raise questions—that's what art should do," commented Nolfi about his soon-to-be released motion picture at an earlier Pasadena screening. And that, Mr. Nolfi, it definitely did.
  22. ^ "Universal Pictures presents the World premiere of The Adjustment Bureau at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City Monday, February 14, 2011". CNBC. February 8, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)[dead link]
  23. ^ Gaul, Lou (June 20, 2011). "'Adjustment Bureau' arrives Tuesday on home video". Beaver County Times. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
  24. ^ Arnold, T.K. (June 29, 2011). "'The Adjustment Bureau' Tops DVD, Blu-ray Sales Charts". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
  25. ^ "The Adjustment Bureau (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  26. ^ Ebert, Roger (March 2, 2011). "The Adjustment Bureau". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 2, 2011.

External links

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