The Adjustment Bureau Review

• 9th Jul 2011

Taken from source material by Philip K Dick, this film raises questions about fate. It seems the titular agency have the job of making sure that mankind sticks to certain paths in order to reach our potential. Coming up against this is Matt Damon’s senator and Emily Blunt’s dancer. After a chance encounter the two find themselves drawn to one and yet the Bureau sees fit to do the best they can to keep them apart.

The film has a perfect blend of human drama and thrills as our besotted couple come together only to be ripped apart from each other again. And it’s the lead performances that really make this film good. Without the all important chemistry none of this would work.

The design of the film in both its visual execution and plot contrivances are fairly well thought out. Yes, there will be times during and after viewing where you try to break down the logic of how it works/doesn’t work. And it’s all thought out well enough for you to go along with it.

The film’s climax could have seen it end in any number of ways, not just in terms of happy, sad or ambiguous, but also in terms of how they explain the inner workings of the bureau. Fate, it seems, could have offered us an endless list of endings, but the one they picked works well enough for the material.

The disc comes with a few extras including a director’s commentary. This film sits nicely in with the better Dick adaptations. It isn’t the new Blade Runner or even Minority Report, but it sure beats the likes of Paycheck.

Steven Hurst