Director: George Nolfi
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Mackie

Are you in control of your life? Can your daily routine be altered by outside forces that change the course of your destiny? Oscar winner Matt Damon (Hereafter) is a young politician on the fast track, but a photo leak to the press leads to a humiliating defeat on election night. While licking his wounds in a hotel bathroom he meets Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), and develops an instant attraction to her. But before he can get her name or number she rushes out of the hotel.

Defeated, Damon returns to the private sector to work along side his former campaign manager. By chance one year later, Damon sees Emily Blunt on a city bus. This random encounter alters the timeline of his day and he arrives earlier than expected to a meeting. He finds several men in fedoras surrounding his coworkers who appear to be frozen with electronic devices attached to their heads. Damon, in a state of panic, flees the scene but is pursued by the fedora-wearing men. When he is captured, these men are forced to reveal to Damon that they are The Adjustment Bureau, a world wide organization that tracks the earth’s population and enures that their lives follow a preset plan. The plan is outlined by the head of the Bureau known only as The Chairman. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) plays a Bureau agent assigned to follow every move of Damon's life. Mackie's job is to ensure that Damon's relationship with Blunt ends. The Bureau's plan shows that the trajectory of their lives will change from their assigned fate if they stay together. When Mackie realizes that Blunt and Damon are deeply in love his conscience leads him to help Damon fashion a plan to stay with his soul mate while avoiding Bureau intervention.

Of course there is a twist, and unfortunately it is not hard to figure out. The members of the Bureau and their boss are not who they appear to be. The major flaw is the short running time. Although entertaining, everything feels rushed. Director George Nolfi should have spent more time establishing the Buearu as a legitimate agency like the FBI or NSA. The reveal happens too early in the film and lacks any kind of dramatic punch. The movie does take a familiar Hollywood theme and manages to apply a fresh twist, and some credit must be given for that. In the end, The Adjustment Bureau is truly a love story. The trailer leads you to expect a political thriller with elements of science fiction, but this is a romance. Whether you like the film or not the next time you spill your coffee and it makes you late for your train, cab, or meeting you will be wondering if you have just been “adjusted”.

*fashionadofilm score 6 out of 10

*fashionadofilm Jamie Clemons