The Adjustment Bureau
David Norris played by Matt Damon is a popular politician who has the possibility of running for President. That is what "they" want him to do. Norris loves the applause and adulation of the masses and is inching his way towards the Presidential election when he has a momentary lapse of reason aided by alcohol. End of career is in sight when he meets the free spirited Elise (played by Emily Blunt). She inspires him to rip up the hackneyed cliche ridden speech and speak to the electorate from the heart. Once again the White House begins to appear on his career radar. But... he is pulled to the side by this mysterious group called "The Adjustment Bureau" who have the power to run everyone's life and ensure that people run it according to their plan. So Matt is told to make a choice. Will he take the road less traveled and change fate or accept what destiny holds for him? He has to make a choice and that is what the movie is all about.The movie was described as a science fiction romantic thriller. Let me decode all four adjectives.What makes it qualify as science fiction? A kind of Matrix like concept and very convoluted at that. They who run the Adjustment Bureau are evil folks in hats. That gives them the power to walk in through doors and take short cuts while chasing Matt Damon who is human and hence takes the bus or the crowded New York streets. They will make "adjustments" to ensure that you stay with the script that you are supposed to play out in your life. However the all powerful Bureau officials are unable to work their magic when there is water. When you watch the movie you will notice this uncanny coincidence that whenever Matt Damon needs to escape from them it starts to rain. Ergo whatever parts of the movie sound like Matrix is the bit about science fiction. This is the hardest part to explain after watching the movie. So I had to get that out of the way. Think of it as Matrix meets Harry Potter to understand why the director believes all science is fiction.
The romantic bit is easy to explain. Matt Damon loves the electricity that gets generated between them when he meets Emily Blunt. However it is illegal to generate your own electricity. So the Adjustors will do crazy things to stop them from having their own gen set. That is the comedy part of it. If Matt cannot pull off the complex plot of continuing to love Emily while keeping his hat on and running through the rain, the Bureau wins. Who runs the Bureau? God? No silly... It is "The Chairman". I am not sure whether this bit will qualify as science or fiction or comedy. It is not the romantic bit is the only hint I can offer.The chemistry between Blunt and Matt is unmistakable to the audience but the cliched lines kill. It is hard to say "I love you" when a ginormous amount of songs and movies have said it all before. So really it IS hard for the director to say stuff without sounding like he has done a control c+control v from some movie or the other. Ironically it is the romantic bit of the movie that really works. So I was a little puzzled why the director did not leave it at that.Written and directed by George Nolfi, the film is based on a short story by the American novelist Philip Dick's short story called the Adjustment Team.