In Philip K. Dick’s 1954 short story “The Adjustment Team,” a dog barks one minute too late, causing a ripple effect that changes the course of the universe. In George Nolfi‘s The Adjustment Bureau, a loose adaptation of Dick’s story, Matt Damon catches a bus he’s supposed to miss and sets off a chain of events that force the men of the bureau to step in. Nolfi’s film is much more a romance than a scifi thriller. It’s exposition-heavy with more conversations than chases and addresses the philosophical catch-22 of predestination versus free will in an attractive little package.

David Norris (Damon) is a charming frontrunner for the New York Senate but while his devil-may-care attitude attracts young voters, it also causes controversy along the campaign trail. While practicing a speech in the men’s room, Norris encounters Elise (Emily Blunt), who got caught crashing a wedding and is hiding out in the bathroom. Sparks fly all over the bathroom and Elise inspires Norris to deliver an overly Blunt speech about how campaigns transform candidates into retarded children who can’t dress themselves. But according to “the plan,” Norris and Elise are never supposed to meet again.

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