Directed by George Nolfi. Starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
I sometimes read Roger Ebert's review of a film I'm attempting to write about... He's so good at what he does that I find it inspiring and thought-provoking. I do often have to challenge me afterwards to stick to my own ideas and language. However, just this once, I simply have to quote him (from this post)... "The Adjustment Bureau is about the conflict between free will and predestination, and right there you have the whole dilemma of life, don't you? Either it makes a difference what you choose to do, or the book had already been written, and all you can do is turn the pages."
I knew this movie was right up my alley even before seeing it... It's an interesting mix of Sci Fi and Romantic Comedy/Drama, and it deals with really interesting ideas about fate. The titular agency is a supposed group that keeps certain important people "on track" with the plans laid out for their lives. In fact, they are tasked with keeping the entire human species on track... but it's really the important people, those who are destined for great things that matter. The explanation for the bureau is fairly well fleshed out (although the head of it, the supreme "god-like" figure is murky and barely explained)... We do get a rather witty glimpse into history, including the fun fact that the few times the Bureau tried a "hands-off" method led to the Dark Ages and the World Wars.
Thus, humans can't govern themselves, other than the tiny daily decisions... what size coffee to drink in the morning, and the like. So, from this premise, you would think that the film seems to put forth an argument for predestination. But I don't think it does, because the film is questioning predestination, testing free will, asking how the two could possibly work together. If anything it argues that free will is out there, but that it must be worked for. It's easy to be a sheep and follow the path laid out for you, but you can also try to reach a higher state of... call it enlightenment... in which you are in charge of your own destiny.
The film puts forth the story of one man, David (Damon) who decides he doesn't like the plan laid out for him. David must choose between his love for Elise and his aspirations in politics, but what happens if he doesn't choose "correctly", as the Bureau wants him to? Of course, the real kicker is that David was never supposed to really meet Elise... or at the very least, not supposed to fall in love with her. She was supposed to be a chance encounter in a men's bathroom... a catalyst that leads him to greatness. But David and Elise do meet again, on a public bus, when David's Bureau handler falls asleep on the job. Faced with the task of getting David back on track, the wonderful John Slattery (I'm not sure of his character's name) reveals all, thinking a full explanation of the Bureau, coupled with a threat to erase his memory if he should share this information with anyone, will solve the problem. Long story short, it doesn't.
This film is good, but it's missing something that would have made it great. It's as if it's not willing to go all in to the science fiction vision of the world it purports. This is not the next Inception, in other words... it treats its topic too lightly, somehow. The stakes for David and Elise never seem as high as those for Mal and Cob in Inception, for example. Though they grapple with similar things -- their entire grasp on reality as they know it falling apart -- The Adjustment Bureau seems to move on too quickly, or not buy into its own idea somehow.
Don't get me wrong, it's a solid, fun two-hour flick... but it's not nearly the class of film I'd expect in, as I've heard it called, "the post-Inception era." I've heard chatter online that Source Code, another film in a this genre may be a true film for the post-Inception age -- a time of intelligent and interesting films -- but I haven't had a chance to see Source Code yet, at the time I'm writing this.
I liked The Adjustment Bureau when all is said and done. Damon and Blunt, along with the supporting actors like Slattery (whom I love from Mad Men) and Anthony Mackie (whom I'm not very familiar with, but was wonderful in this) all turn in great performances. Damon and Blunt, surprisingly, have good chemistry... It's believable that these are two people chance would throw together, and they'd get along well. I'm not sure how memorable this film will be in the long run... Perhaps in a few years, I'll hear the title and say, "Oh, yeah, I saw that, it was good," but to be honest, it's just a March Blockbuster flick, good for a few hours of fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment