The Adjuster

(I can't believe the negative comments I have read on this page. I mean, sure, peoples opinions are allowed to differ- thats what makes this world so great blah blah blah etc... but this film is incredible and it would be a shame that someone would disregard renting it out on video because someone had bad-mouthed it here.)

This film is set firmly in Egoyan country. We have dysfunction, we have recorded media, we have beautiful shots, a wonderful score, great dialogue, fantastic use of silence (watch out for that one) and overall- you can feel an almost religious intensity beaming through the celluloid. My memory of this film consists of much more than just a plot- it is the warmth, the colours that stick with you too. One more thing... Tarkovsky said that films best asset was its ability to sculpt in time. Egoyans measured rhythm is hard to resist (obviously not for some people).

It seems to me though, that the complaints here are not to do with the films form. Of course it is well made. They have problems with the script, or at least the order of things. Well, for me- the chaos and strange order of things in this film keeps it gripping- apart from the fact that you never know what is going to come next- isn't this half chaotic order a better rendition of reality than most? The content is also 'strange' and not really in keeping with 'popular taste'. So if you are easily offended, or more at home with Spielberg- then please feel free to stick to him. But this is brave, sumptious, disturbing, invigorating, and beautiful territory. I was pleased to visit it.

P.S. Elias Koteas' performance is probably one of my top five favourite performances ever, up there with Takeshi Kitano in Bad Cop and Christopher Walken in King of New York. Stoic, tragic, he hardly puts a foot wrong.

A reflection about what makes everyone's life unique, through the story of Noah's family. Noah (Elias Koteas) is an adjuster, having sex with his customers. His wife Hera watches pornographic movies for the Board of Censors. They live with their son Simon and Hera's sister in a show-flat. One day, they meet Bubba (Chris Christie), who wants to make a movie in their house.

I wish I had known about Atom Egoyan years ago. I only recently "discovered" his work, and it is generally excellent. Between this and "Exotica", I am not sure which I like more. He tells original stories, and puts Elias Koteas to good use... no one else seems to be able to do that, wasting him in supporting roles. (To mainstream audiences, Koteas is Casey Jones but little else.) Some of the plot confuses me, especially as it goes on, and it could use a second (or third viewing). And why not? This is the sort of picture to share with friends.

What a unique and challenging story to work through. The characters are so emotionally unavailable, it is nearly maddening. Even after several days since I watched it, I can't stop thinking about what its purpose is. It requires a second viewing, if one is not too faint of heart. I loved it, even though I did not understand it all the first time. As a recommendation for all of Egoyan's work -- if you're all about the quick fix of action-packed entertainment, look elsewhere. If you want an emotional, suspenseful piece of characterization steeped in a sort of horrid reality, well, this may just be the thing for you. It is a brain teaser. Good luck to all.

*There is also a charming short on the DVD for The Adjuster called "En Passant". It is worth a gander.

This film gave me the creeps. I guess some people like that in a film, and of course that is their prerogative. Sometimes a creepy film will have enough intrigue in other ways to keep my interest and appreciation, but this was not the case with the Adjuster. I almost turned it off because it was making me dread what would happen next. The music made me nervous and I found the characters' neuroses neither amusing nor interesting. In fact, I thought the characters were quite flat in spite of their quirks.

Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan redefines the black comic satire of his earlier films ('Family Viewing', 'Speaking Parts'), but for all its dark wit and visual sophistication the effort doesn't add up to anything more than a cast of unattractive characters in search of a plot. These include, in ascending order of eccentricity: a handsome insurance agent who uses his control over the victims of catastrophe for sexual favors; his wife, a government film censor who secretly bootlegs violent porn movies for her apathetic sister; a filthy rich couple with a fetish for enacting elaborate exhibitionist fantasies; and so forth. The film is disturbing, perverse, sporadically funny, and totally original, bit also inscrutable to the point of confusion: it gives the impression of depth without clearly saying much about anything at all. Egoyan is a filmmaker of obvious and distinctive talents, but he needs (once again) to build a stronger story around his strange characters.