“We are the people who make sure things happen according to plan,” intones an inimitable John Slattery as lead adjuster Richardson. He’s flanked by impeccably dressed men in suits and fedoras, who loom over Matt Damon’s David Norris with all the power of a man who can appear anywhere, at any time. Norris’ bewilderment is our own; then, his wild – and fleeting – attempt at escape becomes a reflection of the terror and turmoil that will propel him through this sci-fi thriller romance.
The Adjustment Bureau, feature debut of director George Nolfi, is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s short story, “Adjustment Team.” Though the film takes care to avoid utilizing religious terms directly (the term “angels” comes up only once in passing), the narrative plays as a Christian allegory. David Norris, a hometown hero and up-and-coming politician meets the free spirited Elise (Emily Blunt) the day he concedes his 2006 race for Senate. With a kiss and her encouragement, he sets in motion a renewed chance at a political career and a love that will come to consume him. It’s this chance meeting that eventually opens his eyes to the world of the Adjusters and their superior, The Chairman.
Behind the curtain of the world, there are those entities who pull the strings, who ensure you are where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to. They aren’t fate – they simply know it. Norris’ struggle under the Adjustment Bureau’s authority, to claim control over his life and choices in the face of [the Plan], is ubiquitous on the path to self-actualization. Who among us, on the therapist’s couch, has not contended with the conflict of ‘what I want’ in the face of life’s apparent, insurmountable will?
Psychotherapy is the mode through which many seek help to apply shape to life’s journey. For those who fear free-wheeling, counseling restores a sense of personal control, emphasizes the value of choice, regardless of life’s ability to generate a feeling of impotence. In the therapeutic space, we examine the chance events that shape the day; psychologists make meaning out of seemingly meaningless events. After all, it was chance that brought David and Elise together, coincidence that spurred their second encounter. Against the instruction of the Adjusters – the planners – he made the choice to continue to pursue her.
Who will you invite to be part of your journey to self-actualization? Though the Adjusters played the role of the antagonist in Nolfi’s vision, their critique of Norris and the effect love – particularly Elise’s love – was not altogether incorrect. Couples counseling emphasizes compromise in relationships. In the modern world, career is often held paramount; The Adjustment Bureau is structured around the time frame between two Senate campaigns. Before Elise, Norris seeks to fulfill the empty spaces left by personal tragedy with work. With her, Richardson fears he will become full and content, yet stagnant.
Contentment is no evil, but in the eyes of the Plan, stagnation for sake of love is. Nolfi smartly refers to the effects of David’s choice as ‘ripples.’ Fulfillment through Elise would deprive him of the agitation that would one day lead him to the presidency. While therapy is empowering in the way of emphasizing the value of choice, it provides the essential function of forcing us to remain cognizant of the ways in which our choices affect others. Stress, or anxiety, was the instigator of David’s journey as it is so often the motivator for us all. People by nature seek balance, fullness. If the Adjusters rightly illuminated how the burdens he carried would lead him to the highest office in the land, they wrongly assumed how he would like to be made full.
There is no quick fix on the road to self-actualization. The Adjustment Bureau spans four years, and Nolfi renders Damon in his lowest moments with dark clarity. He languishes against gray New York, hides away in his apartment, saturated in darkness. Ultimately, this lightweight sci-fi romance resting on a campy gimmick – who would’ve anticipated hats held the key to our world? – succeeds on the clarity of the director’s eye and the power of Blunt and Damon’s performances. We watch them toil against the winds of fate from the Chairman’s seat, the camera often peering down at an imperiously high distance as people refuse to be swayed.
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