In his brilliant short stories, science fiction writer Philip K. Dick recreated the world in his attempts to understand the concepts of free will, humanity and memory.

‘The Adjustment Bureau,’ based on Dick’s short story ‘Adjustment Team,’ is perhaps the least complex and least rewarding of Dick’s great screen adaptations, which include a couple of highly entertaining movies (‘Total Recall’ and ‘A Scanner Darkly’), one near-masterpiece (‘Minority Report’) and one of the five greatest sci-fi movies ever made (‘Blade Runner’).

A conspiracy thriller that harkens back to the past with its 1950s design and costuming, ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ might have been more enjoyable if it didn’t come from the mind of the man who redefined sci-fi storytelling, as it invites inevitable comparisons. A film based on one of Dick’s stories naturally has enormous potential, but director George Nolfi was content with merely churning out a new Matt Damon vehicle.

A tough politician from New York City, David Norris (Damon) is alternately described as a GQ politician and a future leader of America. A slanderous article ruins his first Senate campaign, and while going over his speech in the men’s room, he runs into a witty and sharp dancer named Elise (Emily Blunt). They are forced to part ways before exchanging information. After announcing his defeat, David accepts a lucrative job at a venture capital firm and, on his way to work, happens upon Elise on her morning commute. David soon learns the encounter was never supposed to happen.

David arrives to work and finds his immobile colleagues frozen in time. He’s then chased down by men in old-fashioned suits and hats who tell him about the Adjustment Bureau, a secret (supposedly God-like) organization that ensures humans do not deviate from their destined life paths. They tell David if he ever sees Elise again, he’ll destroy both their lives. If he reveals what he knows about the Adjustment Bureau, he’ll be lobotomized.

With his future turning bright yet again as the front runner in the Senate race and as Elise becomes one of the world’s most prominent dancers, David is forced to decide exactly which is worth living for.

In the short story on which the film is based, Dick explores themes that never fail to fascinate him: the concept of free will and the existence of God. Of all his filmed works, this film is closest to ‘Blade Runner’ (based on the short story ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’), which explored the nature of creation and what it means to control one’s own mind.

 

In ‘The Adjustment Bureau,’ David grapples tirelessly with the concept of free will, refusing to believe he has none, even after the chairman of the Adjustment Bureau, Thompson (Terence Stamp), confirms it does exist. The way in which David refuses to give up is what powers the picture, and a dependably superb performance from Damon certainly doesn’t hurt.

Though David is endearingly passionate in his struggle to achieve happiness in a world working against him, the conflict is not nearly as potent as the source material suggests it could have been. Nobody in the film, besides Damon or Blunt, is the least bit interesting, and the Adjustment Bureau case workers are occasionally laughably stiff. A taut thriller demands smart dialogue more so than any other genre, save perhaps a refined comedy, but Nolfi is content to merely lay out the basic points without furnishing his characters with necessary depth.

Though it’s gripping for the most part, ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ lacks the spark that makes any conspiracy thriller truly riveting. Damon and Blunt make a fine couple, but the plot is simply too contrived to be considered as anything more than serviceable entertainment.

smlittma@syr.edu

Published on March 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm