MOVIE REVIEW: THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

It is extremely challenging to write a compelling love story today because the compelling element, that ‘thing’ that causes the tension, doesn’t really exist anymore. In this day and age, what would prevent two people who love each other from being together? Two men can be together, two women can be together, divorce is acceptable, rich and poor people can be together and religion is not as divisive as it once was. In order to make a love story interesting, there must be something keeping lovers apart. Two people, who love each other, get married and live happily ever after makes for a very boring story.

But what if two people are irresistibly drawn to one another and The Universe has other plans for them - literally. What if their meeting was a glitch in the ‘big plan’? That is basically the driving force behind The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Adapted from a short story (The Adjustment Team) by the master of mind-blowing sci-fi, Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Total Recall), the film is chock full of the sort of manufactured components that could provoke sarcastic chuckles out of most moviegoers. Yet this film moves with such brisk self-confidence that the laughs arrive only at a few comedic rest stops. Terence Stamp plays a stone-faced sentinel who lays it all out: "We actually tried free will before. You gave us the Dark Ages." That’s very funny.

The dynamics of this love story require the main characters triumph over all obstacles including a squad of mysterious men with special powers who move heaven and earth to prevent that happy ending. Damon's character, a New York congressman named David Norris, is a smooth and smart realist. When he meets a group of men hell bent on keeping every human life moving along a preordained path, he fears he's having a psychotic episode. By taking on the audience's skepticism and asking all the how-can-this-be-happening questions, he gives us the luxury of sitting back and watching an engaging tale unfold.

The film wears its influences on its sleeve, from the trim '60s business attire worn by the Men in Black-like guardians, to the notion that the world is, in effect, a Truman Show-style soundstage. Yet it doesn't feel like a mosaic of previously used moments. George Nolfi, the writer of the last "Bourne" movie, scripts and directs here, keeping the focus on his appealing stars and the story's heart. If Norris gets his ballerina, the emotional hole that propels him to seek elective office will be filled. And if Norris doesn't run for president ... well, they never exactly establish what will happen, but it seems bad.

The script's mystical uproar about predetermination and free will is mere scaffolding for a sweet romance. Damon, who usually chooses more challenging roles than the romantic lead, gives it a solid, sincere shot. He's touching when he appeals to his relentless adversaries' better nature, saying, "If I'm not supposed to be with her, why do I feel like this?" A true politician, he thinks he can talk fate into a compromise.

The film looks great, with John Toll's burnished photography turning New York into a romantic wonderland. The special effects are low-key, with one nifty exception. Damon's pursuers chase him across Manhattan by popping through doorways that magically connect Fifth Avenue to Yankee Stadium or subway tunnels to the base of the Statue of Liberty. When Norris turns the tables, the film becomes a giddy sightseeing tour: Inception by way of The Amazing Race.

It’s all utter silliness, of course, but played with such sincerity by Damon and Blunt that we happily go along for this entertaining 99 minute ride. And there’s something wonderfully anarchistic in the idea that even the heavenly host is beset these days with labor issues.