The Adjustment Bureau

Discount Theater

This is actually a tough one for me to rate. If you really like movies and are interested in all elements of film making you will really enjoy this in theaters. It was well made, the acting was great, and it made interesting social comments. This was not some fluffy blockbuster. This movie had a lot to say and found a very creative and entertaining ways to say it. However, it was not as mind blowing as I thought it would be. If you watch movies to be entertained and are not interested in social commentary, I would say rent it. If you are religious and cannot stand to hear or see an opinion that is negative against God or you just don't like movies with agendas, I would recommend skipping this one because it makes some pretty strong comments. Also not a lot of swearing but there is one F-bomb and a sex scene, though no nudity.

Summary
"The Adjustment Bureau" follows David Norris (Matt Damon), a young politician running for a spot in the Senate. He has a spotted past, and when photos surface of him mooning his high school reunion, it costs him the election. As he is preparing his losing speech he meets a girl, Elise (Emily Blunt). She inspires him to be open and honest rather that rehearsed and political. The success of this speech sets him up for the next election.
Meanwhile, four agents from the Adjustment Bureau are meeting. Harry Mitchell (Anthony Mackie from We Are Marshall) is the agent that has been in charge of David for many years. One morning he is supposed to make sure David spills his coffee by 7:05. While waiting for David to cross through the park, Harry accidentally falls asleep sitting on the park bench. This miscue leads to David not spilling his coffee as planned. David boards the bus he was meant to miss and re encounters Elise. After a successful chat, he gets her phone number and arrives to work ten minutes too early.  David happily makes his way through his office.  He is too blissful from his rendezvous to notice that everyone in the office is frozen in place.  He is rudely awakened from his daze as he walks into the conference room and discovers mysterious men dressed in black using an unknown apparatus on his unmoving colleague.  David is chased from the room by the men, who have the ability to walk through doors that lead like portals to another part of the building. David cannot escape, and is quickly brought down. He wakes with his hands tied, sitting in what looks like an empty warehouse. The Adjustment agents are discussing what to do with him. One looks into a book that they all carry and points out that if they make up an excuse he will question it to the day he dies, meaning someone will have to watch him for his entire life. Another suggests resetting him, erasing everything about him. Finally the most senior agent present references a case that happened 40 years ago, and they decide to tell him the truth. They tell him they are a bureau that watch over humans and make sure they follow the plan. When they need to, they make adjustments as they were just doing with his friend. David was supposed to spill his coffee, go back upstairs and change, take a later bus and never see what was happening. Now that David knows, he is told that if he ever tells anyone they will reset him. They also tell him that he was never supposed to see Elise again. That was only chance and not part of the plan. An agent takes her number and burns it. They then open a door and throw him back into the office. The office is back to normal and everyone is fine. Later Harry talks to David and answers his questions. David asks if they are angels, Harry replies people sometimes call them that. He also explains they work for the Chairman though humans call him by many names.
David decides to take on the Bureau and be with Elise no matter what the plan or the Chairman want. With Harry's help, and hat, the required key to use the portals, David sets out to make his own plan.

My Thoughts
Overall I thought the movie was good. It wasn't as action packed as I thought it would be, but it was still exciting. The acting was up to the standard I expected of this cast. Matt Damon isn't a household name for nothing. And I find that the more I see of Emily Blunt, the more I like her. (Just a little plug here but if you are in the mood for a great mushy romantic story watch The Young Victoria.)

I couldn't help comparing this film to "The Matrix." They both have agents in suits, and once you know about them, everyone is a potential threat, or in the case of "The Adjustment Bureau", anyone wearing a hat. The agents in both seem to be offering a false sense of free will. And in both movies the higher power is real. Whether it is the Chairman or the machines, the people are not in control. However, as I stated earlier this movie was not the action adventure or the mind-blowing thriller that "The Matrix" was. It didn't really break new ground, though it was still interesting. If you are a film or theater major you can pick this film apart for hours. I also felt that "The Matrix" happened in a world outside of my own, in a fantasy. It used that fantasy to make social comments. The comments of "The Adjustment Bureau" were much less hidden by the fantastic elements of the film.

You can't deny that "The Adjustment Bureau" was making a comment on religion. But it was not denying the existence of a God, rather making the statement that God takes away the free will of mankind. This movie seemed to suggested that people's lives are planned out, predestined. But it also enables rewrites. However, the Chairman is the only author and editor. The characters couldn't make their own plan, but The Chairman could change their plans if he so desired. In the end no matter how much the characters fought they could only get what they wanted if the Chairman allowed it. The film gives the reason that when humans are left to themselves they destroy everything; that they give in to their most carnal desires instead of using reason to rule their lives, making it clear to the Bureau that mankind could not handle free will. As the movie closes, Harry's voice is heard. He talks about how maybe all of it is a test. Maybe people can only be responsible enough to have free will if they are willing to fight for it.

There are many interesting religious parallels in this film. I agree that some of the film's implications are correct. As Harry says it is a test to prove that we can use free will wisely. I disagree that God would take away man's right to make decisions. I also agree with the film that God has a plan, and offers aid to stay on or get back to that plan. And there are books, scriptures, that work as a blueprint to tell man what that plan is. But God never has, nor ever will force anyone to follow that blueprint.

I also found it interesting that the agents knew what David's actions would be, not by reading his thought but because they knew the probability of his choices based on past experiences. Like knowing a friend so well that you know exactly how they will react in a given situation. This related strongly to the way I feel God knows each person. In is also true, as Thompson said, that man has a tendency to rule life with desire instead of reason. There are also agents, sometimes in suits, all around us; not to make the adjustments for us, but rather to help us make the adjustments for ourselves.

It is also true that people who believe in a higher power see things in the world around them differently. Once David learned about the Bureau, he saw their influence all around him. Likewise, people who believe in a God, see his hand in their lives and the world. This view can be positive or negative. I do not think the comment was on Christian religions alone but on all religions that believe in a god, no matter the name. As Harry said the Chairman is known by many names. By combining all religions' gods, the film implies that parallels can be drawn between all religions, or from a negative view the film could imply that all religions bare the same controlling attributes.

The Bureau could also be viewed as a comment on government. As it is set up after the model of a government agency, the mind naturally connects the two. If the Bureau were viewed acting under the direction of a government, rather than an all knowing, just being, than that changes the movie entirely. Some already think the government has too much information about citizens. They worry the government could be tracking you by your phone, or other means. Personally I doubt any person or government would care enough about my life to track my phone. But what if there was an agency that was specifically meant to "adjust" things. Cover things up, change peoples minds, make sure people got on a certain bus and a certain time. And haven't there already been accusations of this very thing? Through that lens the film takes an eerie turn. But a natural connection as it is after all a bureau.

I think this film was meant to make people think. To ask questions.  I have spent hours thinking about this film and it's possible implications. Lucky for me, I highly enjoy a good deep thought thread. I like questions. I like when the limits of my mind are pushed just a little bit further, and my convictions become a little bit firmer. I do not think this film can be viewed for pure entertainment value. It was good to watch a movie that stimulated my brain, rather than numbing it.