The Adjustment Bureau

A 2011 film based on the Philip K. Dick short story "Adjustment Team".

David Norris (Matt Damon) is a charismatic Congressman whose campaign for Senate is derailed by a last-minute press leak. He practices his concession speech in the men's room, not realising that he is being overheard by Elise (Emily Blunt), who is hiding from security in one of the stalls after crashing a wedding. She eventually owns up to being there, and the two have a romantically-charged conversation that ends in a passionate kiss. Afterwards, he abandons his planned speech for a heartfelt and impassioned tirade that propels him to the forefront of public consciousness, earning him strong support for the next Senate election.

A short time later, David runs into Elise on a bus and gets her phone number. However, when he gets to his office, time is frozen and he is accosted by a cabal of suit-clad, hat-wearing men who knock him unconscious and teleport him to a parking garage. The men explain that they are the people who make sure things happen as they are supposed to, and that he must not see Elise again (burning the paper with her number, which he had not memorised).

Three years later, David finally finds Elise again, reconnects with her, and decides that he's going to be with her, no matter what the mysterious cosmic bureaucrats say. But it won't be easy...

Tropes used in The Adjustment Bureau include:

• Adaptation Expansion: The original story is very short and has a much different plot, focusing on the tribulations of an insurance salesman named Ed Fletcher as he sees the Bureau's activities and starts worrying that he's losing his mind.
• Artistic Licence History: It is referred to on a couple of occasions that David Norris is the youngest person elected to Congress at the age of 24. According to the most basic research, there have been three others (Jesse Wharton of Tennessee, William Rufus deVane King of North Carolina, and David W. Dickinson of Tennessee) who have been elected at the age of 24. While that is not conclusive territory for this trope (he might have been 24 years and 8 months, where as those three were 24 years and more than 8 months or the like), one must take into account William C.C. Claiborne, the second U.S. Representative from Tennessee (after Andrew Jackson), who, according to some reliable sources, was as young as 22 years of age when he was elected and sworn in as a member of the House.
• The Atoner: Harry's guilt over his part in the deaths of David's father and brother leads him to help David.
• Badass Bureaucrat: The Adjusters can kick some major ass with their psychic powers.
  • And subverted in that they have no physical fighting abilities whatsoever. David can shove them out of the way or punch them in the face without much fear for his physical well-being (just his mental well-being if they can hold him long enough).
  • Subverted in another way too; they are psychic, but one of them lies about the extent of his powers to seem more badass than he really is.
• Because Destiny Says So: Richardson's only justification for why David cannot see Elise again is "because the plan says so". After hearing this, David makes Richardson admit that he doesn't know why the plan says so.
• Book Ends: First time we see Elise, she is hidding in the toilets from some men in black, because they found she is crashing a wedding. Toward the end, she is AGAIN hidding in the toilets during a wedding, though it is her own wedding. And David appears to crash the wedding, pursued by other men in black.
• Brutal Honesty: David salvages his political career after a FUBAR election by giving an atypically frank concession speech with some very unflattering remarks about his spin doctors, restoring his credibility as a "people's candidate".
• Celestial Bureaucracy: The Adjusters are supernatural beings in charge of human destinies... and they dress like 50's office clerks and work in what appears to be a huge chancellery.
• Chekhov's Gun: Harry Mitchell warns David that turning the door knobs counterclockwise is "only for us", then promptly returns to the Bureau building by doing just that. Guess what David ends up doing?
  • Subverted in the same conversation: Harry also pointedly tells David not to let go of him until they cross the threshold. Even while frantically running around with an uninitiated Muggle in tow, this never becomes an issue.
• Clock King: The Adjusters rely on other people adhering to strict schedules, timetables and patterns. When their target starts to improvise (or, worse, one of them fails to act at the exact time prescribed by the plan), a Spanner in the Works is inevitable. On the other hand, the adjusters seem astonished that David has ridden the exact same bus to work for the past 3 years without fail.
• Covers Always Lie: Emily Blunt's red dress from the poster never turns up in the actual film.
• Determinator: David knows for a fact that there are beings with supernatural powers trying to keep him from Elise. His plan, at the start, is essentially to keep trying until they give up.
• Deus Ex Machina: The movie ends happily for the protagonists basically because The Chairman literally wrote a different ending for them.
  • Based on the context of the film, this is more of an in-universe 'Deus Ex Deus'.
• Empty Shell: Richardson threatens to erase David entirely if he reveals the existence of the Adjusters.
• First-Name Basis: Harry Mitchell, the one "good" member of the Bureau, gives David his first name.
• For Want of a Nail: Small things make big ripples in the plan.
  • Though for good reason. The Bureau specifically uses small things to push people into the right path. People who start moving in a slightly different direction all the sudden spiral things out of control as their actions move other people out of the way of those initial small disturbances.
• Foreshadowing: Early on, David makes a speech that mentions the importance of people making their own choices.
  • Nicely done with hats being the key to their powers: while running after David, Richardson loses his and can't open a door he himself just locked.
• God: Implied to be the identity of The Chairman. Or some type of god, at least.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: According to Thompson, the first time the Bureau tried a hands-off approach, "you gave us the Dark Ages for five hundred years"; the second time resulted in World War I, World War II and the Cuban missile crisis. They seem to overlook all the good things that occurred during the Dark Ages, and all the bad things that occurred under their watch between the Middle Ages and World War I.
  • Or hell, all the bad things happening right now.

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.

• Humans Are Flawed: The Chairman believes humanity will eventually be deserving of free will... just not yet.
• I Have Many Names: The man in charge of the Bureau: "We call him the Chairman, you call him many things."
• In Mysterious Ways: How the Bureau usually operates. They arranged the initial meeting with Elise because they knew she would inspire David to give an excellent speech, which in turn would boost his political career. Later, Harry Mitchell was supposed to prevent their second meeting by making David spill his coffee.
• Indy Ploy: How David outwits the Adjusters. It is explicitly pointed out that they cannot improvise well or adapt to rapidly changing situations.
• In-Series Nickname: Thompson was nicknamed "The Hammer" when he was a field Adjuster.
• Landslide Election: In the election, David is completely humiliated by his opponent after his ratings plummet due to a leaked embarrassing photo.
• Last-Name Basis: All of the Adjusters are only known by their last name, save for Harry Mitchell, who prefers a First-Name Basis.
• Leno Device: David appears on The Daily Show.
• Magical Negro: Harry Mitchell, the Adjuster who decides to help David.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Elise is made of this trope. They meet in the men's washroom when she is hiding from security from having crashed a wedding, drops his phone into his coffee on purpose, and is a dancer.
• The Masquerade: Apparently, very few people have been told about the existence of the Bureau, and Richardson threatens to erase David's mind (all of it—memories, personality, emotions, everything) if he tells anyone.

Richardson: You've just seen behind a curtain you weren't even supposed to know existed.

• Meaningful Name:
  • "Thompson," "Richardson," and "Harry" become part of the phrase "every Tom, Dick, and Harry," which is slang for an anonymous person.
  • Thompson, "The Hammer" is more blunt than his predecessor.
• Meet Cute: David and Elise have a very Rom Com-esque meeting in the men's room.
• The Men in Black: The Adjusters.
• Nice Hat: All the bureaucrats have them, and they turn out to be key to their teleportation powers.
• No Party Given: No mentions of David's party during his election campaign. Although his opponent is a Republican, and he is shown meeting with famous Democrats in an early scene.
  • The New York county map showing David's loss shows the election results is dominated by red, which is the media's traditional designator for the Republican party.
    • Which only dates back to the 2000 election. Perhaps the story takes place in an alternate universe where the colours have the same meaning as the rest of the world?
  • And he's played by Matt Damon, who would be unlikely to play a Republican.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Although definitely not in the usual sense.
• Odd Name Out: The named bureaucrats are Richardson, Donaldson, Thompson...and Harry Mitchell.
• One-Scene Wonder: Terence Stamp is only in three or four scenes, but completely steals all of them.
• Our Angels Are Different:

David: Are you angels?
Harry: We've been called that. More like case officers who live a lot longer than humans.

• Portal Network: Used by the bureaucrats to stay a step ahead of people.
  • Also played with in that they have difficulty traveling in this manner downtown because of all the "substrate."
• Portal Slam: What happens if a normal person tries to use the bureaucrats' doors.
• The Power of Love.
• Psychic Powers: The bureaucrats can see people's decisions, though they can't truly read minds. They can alter minds, but that uses some sort of technology.
• Punch Clock Villain: The bureaucrats. None of them are actually malicious, some do not even know why they are doing what they do, it's just their job. When the plan is changed, hard-ass Thompson immediately backs off.
• Reality Warper: The Adjusters are able to make minor changes to the environment as long as they are in range.
• Red String of Fate: In a previous version of the plan, David and Elise were meant to be together. When the plan was changed, the previous version could not be entirely washed away, which is why they feel like they are meant for each other.
• Romantic False Lead: Elise's former and future fiance Adrian.
• Screw Destiny: Easier said than done.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: All of the bureaucrats. David, much of the time.
• Sliding Scale of Free Will vs. Fate: Hard to pin down, as "fate" is only fate insofar as the Bureau makes it so, and it is later indicated that the bureaucrats may have free will themselves. People apparently have free will as long as it doesn't interfere with the plan. On the other hand, the Bureau can directly change a person's mind if they need to.
• Spanner in the Works: Harry's negligence royally screws up the Adjusters' plan for David's destiny. When David learns of the Adjusters' existence, he makes breaking up their plans his trade.
• Starter Villain: Richardson.
• State the Simple Solution: When it is explained that the Adjusters' ability to travel through doors depends on their hats, David immediately suggests that he could knock off the hats of those trying to pursue him.
• Theme Naming: The bureaucrats have names ending in -son, except Harry Mitchell.
• Throwing Out the Script: David, as a senatorial candidate, is preparing his concession speech in the men's room when he has his Meet Cute with Elise. He is then inspired by the meeting to ditch his prepared speech and instead gives a brutally honest account of how his entire "common man" image, right down to the color of his ties and the scuff on his shoes, is the result of the work of highly paid consultants and spin doctors trying to reach the largest possible audience. This ends up further cementing Norris' reputation as the "people's candidate", which is just what the Bureau wanted.
• Time Police: The Bureau resembles this.
• True Love's Kiss: Richardson notes that "a real kiss" can shatter the careful workings of the Bureau and throw David and Elise back off-plan again.
• Villain Teleportation: Subverted, the first chase hints at it, but it's all done via a Portal Network for hat people.
• Weaksauce Weakness / Power Limiter: The Bureau's ability to see people's decisions is hampered by water.
  • Which is later explained as one of The Chairman's way of making sure his bureaucrats aren't TOO powerful.
  • They also can't use the door network if their hats fall off.
• Winds of Destiny Change: The bureaucrats have this as a power. They can make a phone not work momentarily, a cab driver won't pick someone up, a curb will pop up out of nowhere, and at the extreme they might cause a sudden injury.
• Gambit Roulette: The Adjusters work to ensure that everything a person does in his life leads to the one outcome prescribed by the plan. However, they are not omnipotent, and cannot control every circumstance.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Well, you can, but the Bureau sure won't let it pass without a struggle.