Unorthodox love tales: The Adjustment Bureau and Last Night

The horror flick, ‘The Rite’ was the first movie I had planned to blog on but after stumbling upon ‘Last Night’ and ‘The Adjustment Bureau’; I thought it best I brought out my softer side and played with them in my creative lab.

‘Last Night’ came out a year ago and I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it before, if not for its A-star cast then its peculiar approach to an age old question, but I can’t be too hard on myself putting into consideration that romantic movies aren’t exactly my bread and wine. However, ‘Last Night’, tingled the neural pathways in my brain in ways very few movies of this genre have ever done.  It stars Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans) as Michael, Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean’s) as Joanna, Eva Mendes (The Other Guys) as Laura, Guillaume Canet (The Beach) as Alex; pretty strong cast, huh?

There is really not much of a plot to this story and the premise is very clichéd as it addresses concepts of infidelity (something that has been hit on in Hollywood, all too often). Nevertheless, it’s the execution of the movie that had me glued from start to finish. Michael (Worthington plays an ambitious corporate man whose married to a creatively challenged writer, Joanna (Keira). It starts off with them attending an office party where Joanna inadvertently finds out that her solemn husband is attracted to his voluptuous co-worker, Laura (Eva Mendes) and the attraction is mutual. This was one of the innovative highlights of the movie as the cinematography was daring; the scenes where brief, relevant and constantly switching from one character to the other which worked wonders. The dialogue that occurs between the married couple after Joanna’s revelation deserves an award on its own; the screenwriter really tore it up here. It’s something that is entertaining but relatable, amusing but far-reaching, fictional but wrapped in realistic urgency, artistic but escaping the pit-falls of melodrama and corniness. I know that’s a lot of praise but damn, it was that good, for me anyway.

As the story unfolds, Joanna meets a lover from her past, Alex (Canet) and Michael leaves for a business weekend with Laura among others. Both parties of the married couple experience different temptations on the same night. Joanna experiences the turbulent, somewhat unwittingly stimulating emotions of meeting up with an ex-lover with whom you share a fiery chemistry, and her husband experiences the visceral cravings most men have to possess something bodily enchanting and wrapped around a bow of newness.

Both parties fail miserably as their self-proclaimed love for one another proves nothing but a rumbling of emotions. On this point most self-righteous women would argue that since Joanna didn’t sleep with the broodingly handsome Alex like her husband did with Laura, then technically she didn’t cheat.

WRONG!!!WRONG!!!!WRONG!!! For lack of a better word, I repeat, WRONG!!!WRONG!!!

If my wife shared such passionate night with some other guy not only would I be quick to sign the divorce papers, I would stick my head in a hole and spank myself.

Hahahahaha, okay that’s a bit over the top but you got to watch to understand why am writing like this.

Moving on, the couple comes together at the end and then the movie closes in the most disrespectful ways. No conclusion is reached and for some weird, arcane reason I felt a filthy message hanging in the air-you can cheat on your spouse and as long as they don’t know, it’s all good. Pathetic if you ask me.

Next on the list is the adjustment Bureau, a movie that has been sang as many praises as the length of the Nile River (That really long river in Africa). Its stars a man whose role as Jason Bourne cemented his title as the quintessential action/thriller leading man; that’s why I was intrigued to find out how he would fair in something heavy on the romance. That said, Matt Damon’s performance was good (not great) and he proved to me as well as many others just how versatile his acting skills are.

The movie’s premise and plot is a breath of fresh air in a Hollywood where contrite movies with about as much originality as a Chinese product have become the norm. However, the execution by Director/Writer George Nolfi was quite insulting. He took a subject matter that required a mild form of formality to it and not only did he dumb it down, he tried to stuff down a nonsensical theological naysay down the viewer’s throat, let me explain why I say this.

The movie starts when the lead, David Norris (Matt Damon) on the night of one of his biggest loses of his political career meets a mysterious quick-wit, candid woman, Elise Sellers (Emily Blunt) in the men’s room. After an almost believable exchange of words (Although it’s a movie and the dialogue is supposed to be catchy, it was a bit of a stretch here) the two feel an instant connection and matters are concluded in a kiss. The woman leaves soon after because she is running from security (she was gate crushing a wedding).

The following day we are introduced to a clandestine organization of hat-wearing, mid-fifties American detective show character look-alikes, called the Adjustment Bureau. They ensure that everyone’s life goes according to a particular plan. Now after Harry, Mitchel (Anthony Mackie from Hurt Locker) David’s caseworker falls asleep whilst on the job (a corny plot trick if you ask me) something unprecedented happens, David meets up with Elise and their fatal romance is given a second wind.

The movie unfolds with the Adjustment Bureau trying its best to get David Norris on what they feel is the best path for him and David fighting them every step of the way to get what he really wants-a future with Elise. I have to applaud the movie here for its artistic yet comical portray of the Bureau and also disparage it once again for turning such a tender subject matter into something laughable.      

This would have been an okay movie even after being man-handled by George Nofli’s idiotic directing abilities BUT (yes, a big BUT) BUT BUT BUT BUT (a lot of emphasis on the but) for the esoteric, pantheism, new age movement, rotten desert they try to serve us at the end, let me take a quote from the very last lines of the movie:

“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 who knock down all the obstacles we put in your way, people who realize that free will is gift you never know how to use until you fight for it.”   

The major contradictory element of this statement is that in the movie, people weren’t allowed to know about the existence of the Bureau, so in essence how could they know that they had life had been planned out and let alone forge a new path for themselves. It is my earnest belief that these words were spoken merely to propel some theological dogma. Further how the heck do you fight for something that is both ‘free’ and a ‘gift?’ 

Creative Edge rating for originality:

Last Night: 3.0/5.0

The Adjustment Bureau: 3.5/5.0