The Dangers of Poor Middle Management: The Adjustment Bureau

"Do you believe in fate? (No.) Why not? (Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.) I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN."

Back when Morpheus and Neo were having this conversation in The Matrix, audiences knew straight away that control was a bad thing, and that by association, the agents of the system that oversaw that control must also be bad. It was a given that human beings should be allowed to make their own choices. David Norris (Matt Damon) stumbles into a similar predicament in The Adjustment Bureau, and be it God or robots, control is still a bad thing.

This is actually a very sweet, very tender film that is carried by Matt Damon's skill and validity as an actor and by the chemistry he shares with co-star Emily Blunt. There are no robots, no slowly cascading bullets, and not nearly enough techno in this film, which is unfortunate. Many viewers will expect at least some action driven carry-over from Damon's Bourne films (in which screenwriter/director George Nolfi was himself involved) but that doesn't happen either. If you walk into the theater expecting testosterone, you'll be disappointed, but if you're okay with seeing a (faith-based) love story, and you don't fall to pieces over a little rule-breaking, you'll probably enjoy yourself.

That said, there are problems in this film. The Adjustment Bureau exists to make sure the events on Earth run according to plan, a royal, worldly plan handed down in interactive manuals to Fedora-wearing gentlemen from an unseen Chairman. No one comes right out and says that The Chairman is God and that the hat-wearers Angels, but they almost do, and identifying this Bureau as such creates problems because they don't seem to be very good at their jobs. David Norris's issues start when his Bureau Agent oversleeps during a crucial moment in his particular plan, and as a result, David runs into Elise (Blunt), the exact woman from whom they're trying to keep him. Luckily, the rapport between David and Elise, from the very first moment they meet, is interesting, engaging, and literally creates the driving force for the entire film; the love story between them is a good one. Later, when Norris stumbles upon a very Twilight Zone moment of human bodies frozen in time as The Bureau "re-sets" one of his co-workers, the men in hats explain exactly who they are and what they do: 

1. We control everything.
2. Everything we control is based on The Chairman's Plan.
3. We don't care about what you want.

4. If you expose us, we'll erase your brain.

None of what they say really carries all that much weight in the run of things, mostly because David (and viewers) have no choice but to take all this seriously without ever being shown that these things are true or even possible, which is a leap of faith that some people probably won't accept. And there's the whole not-being-able-to-make-your-own-choices thing, which won't sit well with anyone who has been taught to believe that their God is a loving one. As it turns out, the rest of the film shows that The Adjustment Bureau really isn't all that effective, is poorly managed, and makes a lot of threats; all it takes to shake up the system is someone like David who won't take "no" for an answer (there's your rule-breaking). Beyond this, there are several great scenes that involve The Bureau's power, their means of exiting and entering the human world, and just the menacing look of the men in hats, especially in a group---those things are fun; the film could have been strengthened by more scenes that cast The Bureau in a light of strength or ability. It's hard, though, to get past just how many times they keep getting it wrong, as well as the bigger concept that The Chairman doesn't really care about David's desires or feelings, and seems to employ a bunch of blowhard stooges to do His bidding. Send them all to Agent Smith for "Adjustment Re-training" and you've got a bulls-eye.

Miscellaneous Items

In between Sopranos I've hit a few other things that have been good:

1. Bossypants, 2011 by Tina Fey.

Synopsis? Chapters about her life, I guess. It's interesting, well written, and very funny. I have to be completely honest, though; I never used to think she was that funny until she started doing Sarah Palin. Clever, extremely, but she and Amy Poehler on SNL (while obviously intelligent) just didn't ever blow my skirt up, if you get me. This did, probably because she could swear and be a little vulgar, which is very much something I like. Oh, and also because she wrote:  "I have a uniquely German capacity to vacillate between sentimentality and coldness." This, too, is something I unfortunately can relate to, along with having a father that everyone was scared of . . .


2. The Catcher in the Rye, 1945, by J.D. Salinger.

"The majority of the novel takes place in December 1949. The story commences with Holden Caulfield describing encounters he has had with students and faculty of Pencey Prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. He criticizes them for being superficial, or, as he would say, "phony." After being expelled from the school for his poor academic performance, Holden packs up and leaves the school in the middle of the night after a physical altercation with his roommate. He takes a train to New York but does not want to return to his family. . ." and so on. (Wikipedia)

This was kind of hard to read, not because of the style of prose or anything technical but mostly because of all the smoking, depression, and nausea. I would read it in the bath and then start feeling really unpleasant about things in general, but it's still a great story. I loved how it was told and the way Caufield explained things, even though it really went on and on a lot:

"It's a funny thing about girls. Every time you mention some guy that's strictly a bastard---very mean, or very conceited and all---and when you mention it to the girl, she'll tell you he has an inferiority complex. Maybe he has, but that still doesn't keep him from being a bastard, in my opinion."

"When I got him on the phone, he said he couldn't make it for dinner but that he'd meet me for a drink at ten o'clock at the Wicker Bar, on 54th. I think he was pretty surprised to hear from me. I once called him a fat-assed phony."

"Old Luce. He was strictly a pain in the ass, but he certainly had a good vocabulary. He had the largest vocabulary of any boy at Whooton when I was there. They gave us a test."

As you page through this story, it gets more and more claustrophobic and awkward, and many, many times you will wonder what the holy hell this kid's beef really is . . . aside from the wealth, and the phonies, and his parents' unavailability and anxiety (well, that's kind of a lot, actually) but then, in one line, it's very simply and casually explained, toward the end, and everything all of a sudden is pretty much cleared up. Sad, but very much worth reading.

3. Fellini's Roma, 1972, directed by Federico Fellini.

"A virtually plotless, gaudy, impressionistic portrait of Rome through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens." (IMDB).


While this is definitely not for everyone (you have to be content with a hell of a lot of wandering), it was really excellent as a window into Fellini's personal history, which I think is fun. Honestly, I like his black and white stuff better, though, especially the pictures that starred his wife (Guiletta Masina). This sort of felt a bit like a docu-drama, but the FOOD! (Damn!) That alone made it worth watching.

4. The Bourne Identity, 2002, directed by Doug Liman.
starring: Franka Potente, Matt Damon.

"A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia." (IMDB).

I love pretty much every single person involved with this film, most of all the stars. Matt Damon, literally, can do ANYTHING well. It's almost annoying. But even without him, the film would still have been well paced, well written, and really fun because Doug Liman knows what he's doing. I loved the car chase, subtle techno, and all the trickery. And for the record, the love scene after Bourne chops Lola's hair off is very captivating; check out the bend in his arm over there . . . (eeeeeee!) Yum.

Inglourious Basterds and The Departed.

These are the sorts of things that made me quit being a music major halfway through the first quarter in my fourth year and decide to do film instead.

O Quentin, My Quentin: Inglourious Basterds, 2009, directed by Quentin Tarantino.


"In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis." (IMDB)

This is not Tarantino's finest film. Diane Kruger, blah, Eli Roth, NO (bears don't have loud outbursts, just let your bat do the talking) and the scene in the basement pub was ages longer than it should have been, but other than that? Still very enjoyable. Brad Pitt is an excellent buffoon. I loved Melanie Laurent as Shosanna (in fact, would I be in the market for any more children down the road, which I'm not, the name would be Emmanuel (le) were it a boy or girl, after Shosanna's vengeful alter-ego). Music, killer, as always. Good use of the John Ford doorway at Lapadite's place ala John Wayne in The Searchers, ala David Carradine in Kill Bill, or any other outsider who is not *supposed* to come inside. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) however, does come inside.

Oui, Shosanna!

Was there ever anyone so slippery? Or cunning? Every scene he was in gave me goosebumps. It was hard to know how to feel about him, obviously he's evil, but he's brilliant and sneaky too. And as it turns out, not above getting caught in his own web of lies. First he loves his nickname, then he hates his nickname? "You don't know why you hate the rat, you just do," (vermin as some sort of obvious metaphor for the Jewish people, yet, this great Jew-hunter is unable to identify someone he shot at as she sits inches from him?) This fascination I had with him quickly turned to disgust once he started chawing that damned Apfelstrudel; chewing noises are where I draw the line. Nonetheless, best supporting actor in 2009, I think it was right on the mark.

The greater theme here, as always, is DON'T FUCK WITH ME. This is why I love, love, love Quentin Tarantino. I think he must dig his mother a lot, because he writes such amazing stories and illustrates such powerful scenes of women's struggles, while not taking anything away from the men. This sort of thing Is. My. Bag, baby.

Irish Mean Streets: The Departed, 2006, directed by Martin Scorcese.


"Two men from opposite sides of the law are undercover within the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish mafia, but violence and bloodshed boil when discoveries are made, and the moles are dispatched to find out their enemy's identities." IMDB.

The Cranberry Juice Dispute.

I love this, too. Some of the scenes between Matt Damon and Vera Farmiga were a little uncomfortable and clunky, realistic, I guess, but just not great.  Everything else was right on. Music killer, as always. Were there any VO narratives on freeze frames? I can't remember. Oscar for Marty, best director of 2006 and God Dammit, it was about time. And although I really, really enjoyed this, something about those Italian thugs from Providence getting whacked just didn't sit right with me in this, ("let's not cry over some spilled Guineas,"); one of them had to be connected to Paulie, right? Boston ain't that far away from New York, right? Right?

Textbook verbiage on theme in a Martin Scorcese picture? "spiritually-charged moral conflict." (A Short History of the Movies by Mast and Kawin) I prefer the DeNiro variety; I think I'll put Casino on the books for December, yeah?

The Green Zone.

It's official: Matt Damon is the new Jack Bauer.
I very much enjoy this.

Good film. Not very uplifting, of course, but hey, how much entertainment can you get from a movie about a war that was based on a lie. . . ?

Great chase scenes. HOOAH!
(directed by Paul Greengrass).










Green Zone