Not as much of a Thriller as I Hoped

Rating: 6/10 (7 March 2011)

I had deliberately not read any reviews for this film, hoping to watch it with fresh eyes and be given a chance not to know any spoilers. All I knew was that this film had a twist on the time travel theme. For some reason, I was expecting a thriller movie, instead I discovered it was a romance movie. I had not read the original short story by Philip K. Dick, so I don't know the original plot. In this case, a man is not given a choice between a career in politics or stay with the love of his life. He wants to stay with his soul mate, but the powers that be try to steer him toward becoming President. It reminded me of another romance with a little science fiction thrown in, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". "Eternal" had a similar premise where a device is used to keep apart two people who seemed destined for each other. "Adjustment" could have worked as an intriguing thriller, with the "plan makers" having a more darker influence on the main character's life. The only element of danger is a threat to our protagonist that his memory will be wiped if he doesn't accept the career path chosen for him. For the most part, however, it seems the filmmakers needed to keep the tone much lighter, with virtually no violence and mostly non-threatening action sequences. This tone is reflected in the music by Thomas Newman, which contains the familiar feel-good light arrangements, queuing the audience that everything will be just fine and our main character is not in any dire predicament. I kind of wish more jeopardy was prevalent in this story, than just be about the power of love. This lack of jeopardy made the third act much less compelling, and resolution all but certain.
The adjustment bureau's premise is still interesting, and it is engaging to learn the "rules", of how the "agents" operate. There are some smart moments where the agents discuss among themselves the meaning of it all. The screenplay also does a good job of keeping just enough of the greater plan a mystery so we the audience aren't being dumbed down with a lot of textbook exposition. Indeed, a lot of exposition is still necessary in order to connect the dots, but the story rolls along with a decent pace. What keeps this film from being mechanical is the good chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, with sparkling dialogue that almost seems improvised. The filmmakers knew that this chemistry was critical in order for the audience to invest their time and emotion into film's plot. Our desire as the audience to see these two people together made us willing to invest our own emotions into the story. So the screenplay, acting, and editing are to be acknowledged in what makes this film succeed. It is only the intended lightness of the story that keeps the third act from having any real gravitas. The potential to have more thrilling elements could have improved the story without losing the romantic core of the plot.