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21 The Adjustment Bureau
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Director: George Nolfi
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, John Slattery, Anthony Mackie
Yet another Philip K Dick story gets a big-screen makeover; soon they’ll be bringing us his shopping lists. But The Adjustment Bureau isn’t really a film about a sci-fi concept, despite proudly exhibiting all the trappings: it’s actually a love story. And the fact it’s a love story which is one of the most believable we’ve seen in a decade is what gets it on our list.
Matt Damon (as New York Congressman David Norris) and Emily Blunt (as ballerina Elise Sellas) have the kind of on-screen chemistry most actors would sell their souls for: you never, for the merest second, doubt that they fell in love at first sight, even if it takes a while for them to notice. The crux of the film is that there’s a shady, possibly supernatural agency determined to keep them apart so that Norris can fulfil his goal of becoming the next President. While the Bureau’s attempts to foil the lovers are fun to watch (especially when we discover they can use doors to teleport from place-to-place), nothing overshadows the natural, often hilarious and easy relationship between the two leads.
The Adjustment Bureau is a gorgeous love affair built on a clever, yet hardly original, sci-fi concept. It probably should have sucked – and some of the sci-fi rationale ranges from iffy to nonsensical – but Damon and Blunt are, instead, our couple of the year. Which makes the film a winner, too.
Best moment: David and Elise meet for the first time (in a bathroom, of all romantic spots) and the attraction between them is undeniable. Too soppy for you? Alright then… David being chased by the Bureau through offices filled with frozen-in-time colleagues is pretty cool, too.
Jayne Nelson
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