It helped watching The Adjustment Bureau without reading reviews first, without checking the back of the CD case for any clues about the story. I knew it was a Matt Daman movie, and I knew it had gotten fairly good reviews.

As I watched, I realized that this was a story that had supernatural elements and a touch of science fiction, but it still remained a love story about a Manhattan politician.

David Morris (Matt Damon) is a congressman running for U.S. Senate in New York. He has a strong lead over his competitor when days before the election adverse news about a college prank surfaces. The loses the election. Getting his mind ready for his concession speech in a hotel mens room, he runs into Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) and it is obvious that romantic sparks fly immediately. Soon, however, strange “men in black” wearing hats start appearing in his life, and he quickly discovers that things are not exactly what they seem to be, not even close.

This is a story about free will, destiny and big brother watching us. There are strong elements of The Matrix here, and some takeoffs of The Truman Show. The story also reminded me a bit about the book The Fermata by Nicholson Baker. I enjoyed the ideas and plot lines of all of those, so The Adjustment Bureau fit right in for me.

Rating: ***