The Chairman's Door

Rating: 6/10 (6 March 2011)

Greetings again from the darkness. Philip K Dick was one of the more prolific sci-fi writers and his works include Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall. He also wrote The Adjustment Team, the short story upon which this film is based. The premise is fascinating: the "bureau" is a team who influence/adjust the timing of events so as to lead mankind toward a predetermined future.
Matt Damon plays David Norris, the rising young star in New York politics ... that is until a college prank is revealed and scandal ensues. On election night, prior to his concession speech, he meets Elise (Emily Blunt), the girl of his dreams in the men's room. I was struck with just how few times a man meets his dream woman in the men's restroom. Their charming banter and immediate connection lead Norris to make a heartfelt speech that thrusts him right back into the hearts of the voters.
When David and Elise meet by chance on a bus, a mysterious force begins to reveal itself. David is exposed to The Adjustment Bureau and told to stay away from Elise, lest he ruin both his dreams and hers. Of course, this isn't really a sci-fi thriller in the traditional sense. It's much more a love story ... a love story for two people who seem pre-destined to be together. And that's the conflict.
The story is really a debate between fate and free will. Does destiny lead us down the path or do we make our own way? The Chairman of the Bureau is clearly a reference to a God-like power, but his "angels" have powers limited to shortcut door portals, slight adjustments to thinking patterns, and looking good in hats.
While writer/director George Nolfi creates a pretty interesting to look at cityscape and an usually smart romantic film, it actually falls a bit short on overall effectiveness when it devotes so much running time to the explanation of how the bureau works. I would have much preferred more debate and examples of how adjustments affect free will and maintain the path to destiny. Instead we get a crash course on the inner-workings of this odd team. That said, there aren't very many better faces and voices than that of Terence Stamp, who plays The Hammer for the bureau. He is a fixer who uses less than forthright tactics in his moments of influencing David.
I am probably being a bit harsh on this one considering that it is quite a bit more clever than the average studio release, but I can't help but believe it was capable of so much more.