In this behind-the-scenes photo, Matt Damon and Emily Morton react with horror to the script. (Kidding!)
George Nolfi's directorial debut THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU takes itself very seriously, its grayness, save for brief bursts of color in Elise’s red dress or the grass below Lady Liberty, further exacerbating its grave tone. I would definitely have welcomed some fun poked at the bureau's Keystone Kop moments. But worst of all, its creators never decided whether the film's a love story or sci-fi adventure, a la THE MATRIX. It vacillates between the genres but in the end fleshes out neither enough to satisfy: Norris’s time with Elise is minimal, and the of unseen manipulators theme — BUREAU’s biggest potential drawing card — is full of gaping holes. The writers take the easy way out of adapting the original short story by neither explaining nor expanding upon any of the ideas the parallel universe of the Adjustment Bureau puts forth.
The story concerns an up-and-coming young politician named David Norris (Matt Damon) who meets and falls for a beautiful ballerina, Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). Yet mysterious men in gray fedoras keep getting in the way. Known as The Adjustment Bureau, these puppeteers of humankind do everything in their power to shape the world according to their own perceived sense of order. But this doesn’t stop Norris from fighting for his own unique destiny and the girl he loves.
The film is based on the 1954 short story, The Adjustment Team, by Philip K. Dick, author of the original tales behind popular films such as BLADE RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL and MINORITY REPORT. (His daughter Isa Dick Hackett served as executive producer.) The bureau members’ fedoras and snappy suits are an obvious holdover from the 1950s when Dick penned his tale, though his all-male organization at least is updated enough to show some racial diversity. And perhaps it’s not coincidental that John Slattery was cast, an actor we’re all accustomed to seeing in the similar fashion of Mad Men’s early to mid 1960’s.
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