{"id":4123,"date":"2011-03-13T14:49:51","date_gmt":"2011-03-13T14:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/\/?p=4123"},"modified":"2011-03-13T14:49:51","modified_gmt":"2011-03-13T14:49:51","slug":"the-adjustment-bureau-day-four-40movies40-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/the-adjustment-bureau-day-four-40movies40-days\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adjustment Bureau – Day Four – #40movies40 days"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I love movies that are complex and morally ambiguous– movies that require me to figure out where I stand in a story where there are no clear answers and only hard questions. \u00a0I am liking less and less movies that are complicated and ambiguous in a way that is frustrating and requires me to puzzle out the logistics of a situation rather than consider the essential humanity (or inhumanity) of a character.<\/p>\n

So I was worried The Adjustment Bureau<\/em> was a movie in that complicated and logistically ambiguous zone. \u00a0In fact, that’s not the case at all. \u00a0Although the movie has many flaws, at it’s heart is a hard human question. \u00a0Before you read further PLEASE NOTE– SPOILERS below.<\/p>\n

The story opens on David Norris (Matt Damon), a\u00a0young charismatic politician who is losing an election because of a youthful college prank. \u00a0A photo resurfaces, makes headline news and destroys his narrow lead . \u00a0He retreats to the men’s room in the election night hotel headquarters to practice his concession speech.<\/p>\n

Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) is hiding in the men’s room to escape the security guards who threw her out of a wedding she crashed. \u00a0Elise overhears David’s muttered speech and urges him to tell the truth instead of repeating the carefully parsed words provided by his pollsters. \u00a0The security guards give chase and Elise flees without telling David her name. \u00a0David goes on stage, begins delivering the same old speech, then throws away his notes and gives an honest ad hoc speech that launches his next Senate bid.<\/p>\n

On his way to work, long after the election, David is supposed to be intercepted and delayed for ten minutes. \u00a0Instead, he meets Elise again on the bus. \u00a0They emotionally reconnect and she gives him her first name and telephone number. \u00a0The delay never happens and David arrives at work on time.<\/p>\n

In the office, he witnesses someone being “adjusted.” \u00a0There are weird electron wands, men in futuristic Swat Team attire and other mysterious men in hats and somber grey suits. \u00a0David is shocked, runs and is chased down. A door in the top-floor office opens and suddenly he is in a locked underground parking garage.<\/p>\n

When he is captured in the garage David learns about the adjustment bureau. \u00a0The non-human bureau (beings with special powers)\u00a0keeps people and situations “on plan.” \u00a0This plan is created by the “chairman.” According to the plan, David was supposed to meet Elise once, be inspired to give his speech and then lose track of her. \u00a0Instead, by chance and administrative screw-up they reconnect.<\/p>\n

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David refuses to give up. \u00a0He rides the same bus route (where he met Elise) at the same time every day for three years. \u00a0He is constantly searching for her wherever his day takes him. \u00a0One day, he finally spots her walking along the sidewalk parallel to the bus route. \u00a0David jumps off the bus and tells her he was mugged, his wallet taken and her number was destroyed. \u00a0He’s tried Google and everything he could think of but couldn’t locate her.<\/p>\n

It turns out Elise founded a small dance company and was engaged to her brilliant choreographer. \u00a0She broke off the engagement after she met David. The two are in love and believe they are meant to be together. \u00a0More chases and more revelations about the adjustment bureau ensue.<\/p>\n

The story boils down to this– David is told he will be president and will be in a position to do much good, but only if he lets go of Elise. \u00a0Elise will become a famous dancer and an important choreographer, but only if she and David don’t reconnect. \u00a0If they stay together, she will wind up teaching dance to six year olds in a small studio somewhere. \u00a0By pursuing her, David will not just destroy his dreams but hers as well. \u00a0David leaves Elise in the hospital, where she is recovering from a sprained ankle. \u00a0David watched her dance and she fell (to prove the bureau’s point).<\/p>\n

Fast forward, David is in the final leg of his flourishing Senate campaign. \u00a0He is so far ahead even he can’t screw up his lead. \u00a0Then David reads in the paper that Elise is set to marry her previous fiancee, the choreographer. \u00a0 David abandons he campaign stop and rushes to Elise.<\/p>\n

One of the bureau members takes pity on David and explains he was told a half truth. \u00a0David finds out that the death of his father and brother were orchestrated by the bureau to create an emptiness in him, a hole that David kept trying to fill by public applause and the warmth of the political limelight. The real reason the bureau wants to keep David and Elise apart is that if they have each other, they will have “enough.” Their emptiness will be filled and they won’t have to substitute the drive for material, political or artistic success for love.<\/p>\n

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The bureau uses a time-proven strategy fueled by fear– fear of not having enough, not being enough or not leaving enough of a legacy. It tries to convince David that political power (even though he knows he is the bureau’s puppet) is worth more than love. \u00a0It argues that teaching dance to six year olds is a failure and is too high a cost to pay for love and commitment. \u00a0 The bureau fears a love that is so strong and so fulfilling that it is “enough.” \u00a0They cannot allow a love that is so satisfying that it leaves no desperate hunger left to fill. \u00a0The bureau offers the choice between love and fear.<\/p>\n

How much is “enough” for me? How much is contentment, gratitude and balance worth in my life? \u00a0How fast do I have to run? \u00a0What would happen if I slowed down? \u00a0Am I fueled by fear- not having enough, not being enough, not leaving enough behind? \u00a0Or am I fueled by love– being with the people I love and doing only those projects I love?<\/p>\n

It’s strange how all four of these randomly selected movies, movies I didn’t know all that much about, all seem to have something profound to say about this Lenten journey.<\/p>\n

DAY ONE – RANGO – IS HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

DAY TWO – DOGTOOTH – IS HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

DAY THREE – THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW – IS HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

In my view of things The Adjustment Bureau<\/em> is a Power of Ambition<\/a> movie. \u00a0As such it asks the question: \u00a0What is the meaning of success? \u00a0Outward trappings, prestige, position, popularity, status and worldly achievement? \u00a0Or real relationships, authenticity and honest self-assessment?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much has been written about who the Adjustment Bureau is– are they angels and is the “chairman” God? Let’s look at what the bureau does– it creates a hunger in people that can be directed to fulfill the bureau’s plan. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,47,51],"tags":[25,26,27,28,30,31,32,861,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,1060,41,42],"class_list":["post-4123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movies-character-development-screenwriting-screenplay-script-blog","category-random-thoughts-pop-culture-political-movie-television-blog","category-power-of-ambition","tag-character","tag-characters","tag-emotional-toolbox","tag-etb","tag-film","tag-films","tag-laurie-hutzler","tag-matt-damon","tag-movies","tag-nine-character-types","tag-screenplay","tag-screenplays","tag-screenwriting","tag-script","tag-scripts","tag-scriptwriting","tag-the-adjustment-bureau","tag-tv","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"ttshowcase_normal":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",125,94,false],"ttshowcase_small":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",75,56,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"Image Size 500x500":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",500,375,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-300x400.jpg",300,400,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-600x450.jpg",600,450,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Laurie Hutzler","author_link":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Much has been written about who the Adjustment Bureau is-- are they angels and is the \"chairman\" God? Let's look at what the bureau does-- it creates a hunger in people that can be directed to fulfill the bureau's plan.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}