Genre Essay

The Adjustment Bureau is a film directed by George Nolfi and stars Matt Damon as the lead character. The film is a typical thriller with an element of film noir and romance.

The trailer starts of as a typical romantic comedy with warm coloured shots, slow and smooth camera movements and even the typical romance iconography of the camera shot with David and the love interest gazing into each other’s eyes. However the mood visually changes as we see that David and Elise live is not matching the designated plan set by The Adjustment Bureau. The typical iconography of film noir films are harsh shadows, cold blue hues and the de-saturated, high contrast colour grading, and this trailer is no different. The shot of the bed with the Adjustment Bureau agent looking over the bed is typical Film Noir cinematography. The room is darkened and the bed sheets have been chosen as a navy colour to show the contrast between light and dark. Choosing navy also increases the definition of the shadows which is a typical stylistic choice in Film Noir cinema that has been made because it makes the audience feel afraid of The Adjustment Bureau as they are perceived as being dark and evil. The hat is also a significant piece of mise-en-scene that connotes the Bureau is evil, dark and soulless as the audience can't see their faces which prevent the audience developing a personal connection with the agents.

As we move through the trailer, we are then presented with the chase scene. This also has elements of Film Noir. Like the bedroom scene, the grading is high contrast the emphasise the shadow in the scene, the setting has been chosen as downtown New York as it infamous for its dark shadowy back streets and alleyways, which increases the tension and fear that the audience feel as there is a common fear of what lurks in the shadow. In the chase scenes though, there is typical iconography that is found in the thriller genre. For example, the chase scene features a lot of fast paced camera movements and has several occasions where a handheld shaky-cam has been used to inject kinetic energy in the scene in conjunction with the fast paced edits between camera angles, which is exactly what the purpose of a thriller film is - to thrill and excite people. The audience positioning is also typical in thriller movies, such as the high angled shots of the protagonists (i.e. The Adjustment Bureau) which makes the audiences feel afraid of the Bureau because they appear to be powerful and controlling, whereas the ‘hero’ in the film (i.e. David Norris) is shot from a low angle which connotes that they are weaker, but are on the same eye level as the audience so that a personal connection can be developed which would lead to the audience feeling sympathetic and supportive. Even the idea of a weaker but determined male ‘hero’ character and a powerful and evil oppositional force is typical thriller genre iconography.

Music plays a big part in the emotions that an audience feels about a film. At the beginning of the trailer, soft and gentle music is played whilst the romantic iconography is displayed. This with the camera shots of David and Elise gazing into each other’s eyes makes the audience feel happy and almost protective of their relationship. When the thriller iconography is displayed, the music changes harsh violin notes, and fast paced electric guitars which creates and more tense and fast paced environment which threatens the relationship between David and Elise and the romantic ideology’s themselves which unsettles the audience and makes the audience feel quite fearful of the power and force of The Adjustment Bureau.

The stars and the directors are a big indication of the genre of the film. Although there are a few exceptions to the rule, most stars and directors stay within the same genre of film. The Adjustment Bureau was directed by George Nolfi, the infamous director of The Bourne Ultimatum and The Sentinel, both of which are in the thriller genre. The lead actor of the film, Matt Damon, is also well known for his work in the thriller genre, such as being the lead actor in The Bourne Trilogy and other well-known thriller films. Because they are well known within the thriller genre, the audience will have the impression that this will be another well-produced thriller film and thus will be more inclined to watch it.