The Adjustment Bureau

Summary: David Norris (Matt Damon) is a young-gun politician who has his run marred by one bad decision and coincidentally meets an intriguing young woman in Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt). The connection that is sparked is genuine, but mysterious forces attempt to be keeping them apart because it was not written. Norris attempts to fight against these forces by chance and his will. The story is based off of a short classic by Phillip K. Dick.

Review: Matt Damon gives a fantastic performance as does Emily Blunt. Emily Blunt was excellent in her role as a dancer and her accent was sexy while her attitude possessed elegance. Anthony Mackie plays one of the "good" agents, John Slattery was proper in his role, and Terrance Stamp did play the menacing "hammer" agent. The cinematography was exceptional and the scenes were shot very well. The rain in some scenes also brought out the the theme of water being able to hide certain things as the rest of the themes were fantastic to the story.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: Is there fate that is written and our free will is really just an illusion. Can chance really fight against the forces of destiny? The only thing that can defeat well measured forces is simply playing the probability as evidenced by Norris's run into a restaurant to ask where the dance class was held because well written plans in books can only be rewritten so much.

Power Rating (Out of 5): 5 I really enjoyed the movie and it was a romantic thriller. It had its lighter moments, superb acting, and a plot that represented something bigger. It has a message that asks how far can free will go even if it's against love. The dialogue was also superb and its length was concise enough that it leaves this viewer wanting more.

Favorite Quotes:
Elise Sellas: Were you just looking at my legs while I slept?
David Norris: I was helpless against the dress.
Elise Sellas: It's a skirt.
David Norris: It's a belt!

Elise Sellas: I'm not some hopeless romantic. I would never allow myself to be that way, but once I've felt, even for a moment, what I felt with you.
Elise Sellas: You ruined me. I didn't want to settle for less.
David Norris: I know the feeling.
Elise Sellas: It scares the shit out of me.
David Norris: I'm not going to hurt you.
Elise Sellas: You don't need to say that.
David Norris: I'm not going to hurt you.

David Norris: All I have are the choices I make, and I choose her, come what may.

Richardson: Now, there's something I need you to understand if I'm going to let you go?
David Norris: Okay.
Richardson: Very few humans have seen what you've seen today. And we're determined to keep it that way. So, if you ever reveal our existence, we'll erase your brain. The intervention team will reset you. You're emotions, you're memories, your entire personality will be expunged. You're friends and family will think you've gone crazy. You? You won't think anything.
[David just looks at him]
Richardson: You understand? Not one word about us.
[David nods his head in agreement]
Richardson: Okay. Oh, one more thing. You uh...you bumped into a woman this morning on the bus, Elise?
David Norris: What...what has that do with anything?
Richardson: Well, you were never supposed to see her again.
David Norris: What is...what does that matter?
Richardson: Because it matters.
[to his men who grab hold of David]
Richardson: It's in his wallet.
[the men search for his wallet]
David Norris: Hey! Hey! Ahhh! God! Hey! What's with you guys? Jesus!
[McCrady grabs his wallet and takes out the card with Elise's number on it]
David Norris: Oh, com on! No! No!
[Richardson hold the card and lights a lighter underneath it and it starts to burn]
David Norris: What the hell! Really? What the hell!
Richardson: Okay.
David Norris: Okay.
[to his men]
Richardson: Take him back.
[to David]
Richardson: Enjoy the rest of you day.

Harry Mitchell: You won't find her. They'll make sure of it. Even if they weren't tryin' to stop you, they're nine million people in this city. You'll never find her. Forget about her. Move on with your life.

David Norris:Yeah, I...rode the M6 to work everyday for three years, hoping that I'd bump into you. Oh, uh...listen, is there a place where we could go and um...and talk?
Elise Sellas: Don't you have to get to work or something?
David Norris:I just got sick.

David Norris: Okay, if you were married, then it would bother me.
Elise Sellas: But now you're just saying what you think I wanna hear. I'm single. Now, let's see you bullshit excuse for not calling me.
David Norris: I didn't have your number.
Elise Sellas: I gave it to you on the bus. I handed it to you.
David Norris: I was mugged. It was taken from me.
Elise Sellas: No, come on!
David Norris: No I...it...I...my wallet was taken, they took it.
Elise Sellas: Come on!
David Norris: Look, why else would I fawn all over you on the bus three years ago and then never call you?
Elise Sellas: Cause I don't know. You have a girlfriend, you felt terrible and...
David Norris: Okay, listen I swear to you that I did not have a girlfriend.
Elise Sellas: All right.
David Norris: Okay, listen. No...I...on my parents graves.
Elise Sellas: That's heavy.
David Norris: That's too heavy, I know. But it's true. I...I didn't have...I didn't your number. And I didn't even have a last name to go by. You know, if you Google just Elise you get seven hundred and...
Elise Sellas: You did not!
David Norris: ...fifty seven thousand hits. And none of 'em were you.

McCrady: We have a problem.
Richardson: What?
[he puts down a notebook showing map on Richardson's desk]
McCrady: David Norris is off plan.
Richardson: Son of a bitch! How did he find her?
McCrady: Chance. Just spotted her on the street.
Richardson: We never should have let him meet her in the first place.
McCrady: We followed protocol to the letter.
Richardson: The guy rides the same bus everyday for three years. Who does that?

Richardson: It's whole world of women out there. Thought we established this one was off limits?
David Norris: It's been a while, I must have forgotten.
Richardson: Doesn't change the fact.
David Norris: You put us together three times.
Richardson: That wasn't us. That was just chance.
David Norris: Why do you want to keep us apart?
Richardson: Because the plan says so.
David Norris: Well, then you misread the plan.
Richardson: No. There's no misreading the plan when it comes to you and Elise.
David Norris: The plan's wrong!
Richardson: You know who wrote it?
David Norris: I don't care.
Richardson: You should really show a little respect.

David Norris: If I'm not supposed to be with her, how come I feel like this?
Richardson: It doesn't matter how you feel. What matters is what's in black and white.
David Norris: What, you don't know why I'm not supposed to be with her do you? That's why you can't tell me. You don't know.
[he walks away from them]
Richardson: Who is this guy?

Thompson: Frustrating, isn't it? My name is Thompson.
David Norris: Whatever happened to free will?
Thompson: We actually tried free will before. After taking you from hunting and gathering to the height of the Roman empire, we stepped back to see how you'd do on your own. You gave us the dark ages for five centuries until finally we decided we should come back in. The Chairman thought that maybe we just needed to do a better job with teaching you how to ride a bike before taking the training wheels off again. So we gave you raised hopes, enlightment, scientific revolution. For six hundred years we taught you to control your impulses with reason. Then in nineteen ten, we stepped back. Within fifty years you'd brought us world war one, the depression, fascism, the holocaust and capped it off by bringing the entire planet to the brink of destruction in the Cuba missile crisis. At that point the decision was taken to step back in again before you did something that even we couldn't fix.

Thompson: You don't have free will, David. You have the appearance of free will.
David Norris: You expect me to believe that. I make decisions everyday.
Thompson: You have free will over which tooth past you use, or which beverage to order at lunch. But humanity just isn't mature enough to control the important things.
David Norris: So you handle the important things? Well, the last time I checked the world's a pretty screwed up place.
Thompson: It's still here. If we'd left things in your hands it wouldn't be.

Thompson: Why do you refuse to accept what should be completely obvious by now? You've seen what we can do. You can't doubt we are who we say we are.
David Norris: Look, it's not about who you are. It's...it's about who I am.
Thompson: Can't outrun your fate, David.
David Norris: I'm...just disagree with you about what my fate is. I know what I feel for her and it's not gonna change. All I have are the choices that I make, and I choose her. Come what may.
Thompson: In six twenty, if you leave now you can make Elise's show.

Harry Mitchell:[voice over] Most people live life on the path we set for them. Too afraid to explore any other. But once in a while people like you come along and knock down all the obstacles we put in your way. People who realize free will is a gift, you'll never know how to use until you fight for it. I think that's The Chairman's real plan. And maybe, one day, we won't write the plan. You will.