''The Adjustment Bureau'' is a 2011 American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
romantic thriller
A romantic thriller is a narrative that involves elements of the romance and thriller genres.
A good thriller provides entertainment by making viewers uncomfortable with moments of suspense, the heightened feeling of anxiety and fright. A thril ...
film written and directed by
George Nolfi
George Nolfi (born June 10, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with sci-fi action, romance thriller, ''The Adjustment Bureau'' starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
Nolfi's work has been known to blend genres a ...
, based on the 1954
Philip K. Dick short story "
Adjustment Team
"Adjustment Team" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in ''Orbit Science Fiction'' (September–October 1954, No. 4) with illustration by Faragasso. It was later reprinted in ''The Sands of ...
".
Starring
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...
,
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awar ...
,
Anthony Mackie
Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his pe ...
,
John Slattery
John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...
, and
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...
, the film tells the story of a United States congressman who discovers that what appear to be chance events in his life are controlled by a mysterious, powerful group. After an event not planned by these controllers occurs—a romantic encounter with a dancer—he struggles against their manipulation, despite their promise of a great future for him.
The film premiered at the
Ziegfeld Theatre on February 14, 2011, and was released in theaters in the United States on March 4. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed $127 million, against a production budget of $50 million.
Plot
In 2006,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
Congressman David Norris unsuccessfully runs for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. While rehearsing his concession speech, he meets Elise Sellas, and they share a passionate kiss. David does not get Elise's name before they are separated, but, inspired by her, he delivers an unusually candid speech that is well-received and makes him a favorite for the next Senate election.
A month later, Harry Mitchell receives an assignment from Richardson at
Madison Square Park
Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States ...
, which is near David's home. He is supposed to spill coffee on David's shirt by 7:05 a.m., forcing David to go home to change, but he falls asleep, so David catches his intended bus to his new job and meets Elise again. Before she gets off the bus, David gets her name and phone number.
David arrives at work before he was supposed to and finds his coworkers frozen and being examined by unfamiliar men, Richardson among them. He attempts to escape, but is incapacitated and taken to a warehouse. After some debate about what to do, Richardson reveals to David the existence of the "Adjustment Bureau", an organization that ensures people's lives proceed according to "the Plan" created by "the Chairman". He says David was not supposed to see Elise a second time, so he destroys the card with her phone number on it, and then he releases David, warning him that his memory and personality will be erased if he tells anyone about what he has learned.
Three years later, David spots Elise on the street. He gets off the bus and invites her to lunch, but Charlie (David’s campaign manager), after an adjustment initiated by Richardson, interrupts them with reminders that David is scheduled to announce he is running for another Senate seat. Richardson tries to prevent David and Elise from reuniting after the announcement, but David stubbornly persists and outruns Richardson to Elise's rehearsal with
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet was a New York City-based contemporary ballet company.
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet was founded in 2003 by Nancy Walton Laurie.Luke JenningsCedar Lake Contemporary Ballet – review: Sadler's Wells, London ''The Gu ...
, even though members of the Bureau have a way to
teleport using ordinary doorways.
Richardson learns that David and Elise keep crossing paths because of remnants from earlier versions of the Plan in which they were meant to be together, and Thompson, a senior official in the Bureau, takes over David's case. He brings David back to the warehouse, where David argues he has the right to choose his own path through life, but Thompson says humans only have the appearance of
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
, as the Bureau's experiments with withdrawing their influence resulted in the
Dark Ages and the horrors of the first half of the twentieth century, respectively. Thompson tells David that being with Elise will keep him from his fate of becoming
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, and being with David will keep Elise from becoming a world-famous dancer and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
. To prove he is serious, Thompson causes Elise to sprain her ankle, and David abandons her at the hospital to avoid ruining their futures.
Eleven months later, Charlie, David's campaign manager and lifelong best friend, alerts David to Elise's imminent wedding. Harry surreptitiously arranges to meet with David when it is raining, since water prevents the Bureau from tracking people. As David's "caseworker", Harry feels guilty about all of the negative things he has helped to make happen to David in support of the Plan, so he teaches David how to use doors to teleport and, hopefully, reach Elise before the Bureau can stop him. David finds Elise just before the wedding and tells her about the Bureau, proving what he says by teleporting with her. Agents of the Bureau pursue them all over New York City, and, eventually, David decides to try to plead his case directly to the Chairman. Elise chooses to accompany him, and they enter the Bureau's headquarters. Chased to the
roof
A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of te ...
and surrounded, David and Elise declare their love and kiss. When they let go of each other, they are alone. Thompson appears, but he is interrupted by Harry, who presents the Chairman's newly-revised Plan for David and Elise, which is blank going forward. Harry commends David and Elise for their devotion and sends them away, speculating that the Chairman's true "plan" may be for people to fight for their free will and write their own destinies, like David and Elise did.
Cast
*
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...
as David Norris
*
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awar ...
as Elise Sellas
*
Anthony Mackie
Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his pe ...
as Harry Mitchell
*
John Slattery
John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...
as Richardson
*
Michael Kelly as Charlie Traynor
*
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Stamp is known for his sophisticated villain roles. He was named by ''Empire Magazine'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades inc ...
as Thompson
*
Donnie Keshawarz as Donaldson
*
Anthony Ruivivar
Anthony Michael Ruivivar (born ) is an American actor. He is known for playing Carlos Nieto on ''Third Watch'' and Alex Longshadow on ''Banshee''. He also voiced Batman on ''Beware the Batman''.
Early life and education
Ruivivar was born in Ho ...
as McCrady
* David Bishins as Burdensky
*
Amanda Warren
Amanda Warren (born July 17, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lucy Warburton on the HBO drama series '' The Leftovers''
and as Betty on the AppleTV+ comedy series '' Dickinson''.
Early life
Amanda Warren was born on ...
as Senior Campaign Aide
*
Jennifer Ehle
Jennifer Anne Ehle (; born December 29, 1969) is an American actress, the daughter of English actress Rosemary Harris and American author John Ehle. She gained fame for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC miniseries '' Pride and Prejudi ...
as Brooklyn Ice House Bartender
*
Pedro Pascal as Maitre D' Paul De Santo
*
Brian Haley
Brian Carlo Haley (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. His stand-up act is characterized by playing his all-American looks against manic outbursts and absurd situations. As an actor, he may be best known for his roles as Vee ...
as Police Officer Maes
* Jessica Lee Keller as Lauren, Elise's Best Friend
*
Shane McRae
Shane McRae (born July 23, 1977) is an American actor. In 2017, McRae joined the cast of the Amazon Studios series ''Sneaky Pete'' in the role of Taylor. He also played Dickie Barrett in the Spectrum Original series ''Paradise Lost''.
Early lif ...
as Adrian Troussant, Elise's Fiancé
*
David Alan Basche
David Alan Basche (born August 25, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Todd Beamer in the film '' United 93'', directed by Paul Greengrass. He has been a series regular on many TV comedies and dramas, and has also appeared in ...
as Thompson’s Aide
Chuck Scarborough
Charles Bishop Scarborough III (born November 4, 1943) is an American television journalist and author. Since 1974, he has been the lead news anchor at WNBC, the New York City flagship station of the NBC Television Network, and has also appeared ...
,
Jon Stewart,
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
,
James Carville
Chester James Carville Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political consultant, author, and occasional actor who has strategized for candidates for public office in the United States and in at least 23 nations abroad. A Democrat, he is an ...
,
Mary Matalin
Mary Joe Matalin (born August 19, 1953) is an American political consultant well known for her work with the Republican Party. She has served under President Ronald Reagan, was campaign director for George H. W. Bush, was an assistant to Presid ...
, and
Betty Liu
Betty W. Liu ( zh, 刘文思) is the Executive Vice Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and the Chief Experience Officer of Intercontinental Exchange. Liu joined the NYSE Group after ICE acquired Radiate, the ed-tech startup she founded. Liu ...
appear as themselves.
Production
Writing
In early drafts of the script, the character of Norris was changed from a real-estate salesman, as in
Philip K. Dick's
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
, to an up-and-coming U.S. Congressman.
Financing
Media Rights Capital
MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...
funded the film and then auctioned it to distributors, with
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
putting in the winning bid of $62 million.
''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported Damon's involvement on February 24, 2009,
and Blunt's on July 14.
Filming
Writer/director
George Nolfi
George Nolfi (born June 10, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with sci-fi action, romance thriller, ''The Adjustment Bureau'' starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
Nolfi's work has been known to blend genres a ...
worked with
John Toll
John Toll, (born June 15, 1952) is an American cinematographer and television producer. Toll's filmography spans a wide variety of genres, including epic period drama, comedy, science fiction, and contemporary drama. He won the Academy Awa ...
as his cinematographer. Shots were planned in advance with storyboards, but changed often during shooting to fit the conditions of the day. The visual plan for the film was to use a dolly or crane to keep camera movements smooth and employ a more formal style when the Adjustment Bureau is in full control, and to use hand-held cameras and allow things to become more loose when the Bureau is losing control.
Original ending
The climactic scene on the "
Top of the Rock
30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1933, the 66 ...
" rooftop observation deck of
30 Rockefeller Plaza was filmed four months after the completion of principal photography. According to Nolfi, the ending that had originally been shot featured "the Chairman":
The Chairman was later revealed to have been portrayed by actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Shohreh Aghdashloo ( fa, شهره آغداشلو, ; née Vaziri-Tabar (); 11 May 1952) is an Iranian and American actress. Following numerous starring roles on the stage, she made her film debut in '' Chess of the Wind'' (1976). Her next two fi ...
, who, in her 2013 memoir ''The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines'', said Nolfi told her that
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
was to blame for the change to the ending. She said in an interview with the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'':
Music
The score for the film was composed by
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); '' The Sh ...
, and two songs by
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...
appear on the soundtrack: "Future's Bright" (which was co-written by Newman) during the opening sequence and "Are You Ready?" during the end credits.
Religious themes
Some reviewers identified
Abrahamic
The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran.
Jewish tradition ...
theological implications in the film, such as an
omnipotent
Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one ...
and
omniscient
Omniscience () is the capacity to know everything. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, this is an attribute of God. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain. In Buddhism, there are diffe ...
God,
the concepts of
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
and
predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...
,
and elements from the
descent to the underworld
A katabasis or catabasis ( grc, κατάβασις, from "down" and "go") is a journey to the underworld. Its original sense is usually associated with Greek mythology and Classical mythology more broadly, where the protagonist visits the Gree ...
(a
mytheme dating back at least to the story of
Eurydice
Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music.
Etymology
Several meanings for the name ...
and
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
).
Cathleen Falsani said that the Chairman represents
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
,
while his caseworkers are
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s. The director of the film, George Nolfi, stated that the "intention of this film is to raise questions."
Release
''The Adjustment Bureau'' had its world premiere on February 14, 2011, at the
Ziegfeld Theatre on 141 West 54th Street in New York City. Writer/director George Nolfi was in attendance along with members of the cast, including Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. The film was released in theaters in the U.S. on March 4.
Box office
In its opening weekend in the United States (March 4–6, 2011), the film grossed $21,157,730, which was the second most of any film that weekend, behind ''
Rango''. Its total worldwide gross was $127,869,379, .
Critical response
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics, with an average score of ; the website's critical consensus states: "First-time writer/director George Nolfi struggles to maintain a consistent tone, but ''The Adjustment Bureau'' rises on the strong, believable chemistry of its stars." At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 60 out of 100 based on 41 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, describing it as "a smart and good movie that could have been a great one, if it had been a little more daring. I suspect the filmmakers were reluctant to follow its implications too far." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called the film "a fast, sure film about finding and keeping love across time and space ...
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
has brightened the season with a witty mix of science-fiction metaphysics and old-fashioned romance."
Home media
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 21, 2011. It was the top selling release the first week it was for sale.
See also
*
List of films about angels
This is a list of films where angels appear.
Angels
* '' The Christmas Angel'' (1904)
* ''The Passing of the Third Floor Back'' (1935)
* ''The Green Pastures'' (1936)
* ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941)
* ''I Married an Angel'' (1942)
* ''A Guy Na ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adjustment Bureau, The
2010s romantic thriller films
2010s science fiction films
2011 directorial debut films
2011 films
American romantic thriller films
American science fiction thriller films
Fictional secret societies
Films about elections
Films about politicians
Films about secret societies
Films based on short fiction
Films based on works by Philip K. Dick
Films directed by George Nolfi
Films scored by Thomas Newman
Films set in 2006
Films set in 2009
Films set in 2010
Films set in New York City
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by George Nolfi
Magic realism films
Media Rights Capital films
Metaphysical fiction films
Universal Pictures films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films