The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Have you ever wondered if there is such a thing as free will? Do you believe that every decision you make is your own and that your destiny is yours to shape. Or do you feel that no matter what you do you will end up following a path through life that has been chosen for you? Deep eh? The Adjustment Bureau explores this idea intriguingly as Matt Damon plays David Norris, a politician who falls in love on the eve of his possible election into the US Senate. He meets crazy British girl Elise (Emily Blunt) in the men's room as he prepares a gracious speech accepting his defeat. A simple meeting of two strangers allows this film to begin exploring the idea of free will.

David is soon visited by four mysterious men in suits. We first see them looking down on New York from the top of a sky scraper like Greek Gods on Mount Olympus. Their job is to ensure that humans do not deviate from the 'plan'. I loved the idea of such a divine task being carried out by civil servants. Angels with pay grades perhaps. The agents turn out to be men with flaws and weaknesses just like the people they watch over. The film does a good job of questioning the idea of a divine plan and how it could be enforced without being too over the top. Much of this must go down to the book the story was taken from, "Adjustment Team" by the genius sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. You might not know the name but you have definitely seen his stories adapted by the film world. Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and Next among others is not a bad achievement.

Aside from the fascinating story there is also a top performance by Matt Damon. He is at his best in this film with a great confidence and easy charm that make you wish he was a real politician. It made me think that if screen writers can create such likeable public figures then they are really wasted writing films. Why didn't Gordon Brown have 15 of them kidnapped and locked away in Downing Street writing him a personality? Why didn't George Bush have a team of writers, producers and directors dedicated to stopping him looking witless? Emily Blunt provides a believable partner to Damon and despite some questionable scenes towards the end I found myself hoping they could overcome the odds stacked against them. I was a little frustrated that such great idea was reduced to a romance but I found myself happy to forgive its flaws.

7/10