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It was a dark and stormy night and we embarked on a long and winding road to get to the Newport on the Levee for the screening of the Adjustment Bureau. The pre-movie announcements scared me sufficiently to keep my phone off the whole entire time, because I really didn't want to get sent to the principal's office, and that's what was promised. So, I worried every so often that one of my children might be texting me with a really important question (Where are the paper towels?) and I would miss it. Finally, I plunged my phone deep into the recesses of my purse, covered the screen with my hand and a lens-cleaning cloth, and pressed the button which would show me if I had any texts. None! Whew!

And I sat next to a famous person, who overheard my comment about how I wouldn't have come to this if it weren't Adjustment Bureau, and he broke into our conversation and said "Me, neither!" His famousness is relative, and pretty much limited to Crossroads, but still.

And I was on my first date with the mom of my son's girlfriend. (Did you understand that?) We're about the same age and have a gosh-darn lot of stuff in common, so it was a LOT of fun.

Oh, you want to know about the movie? It was very thought-provoking, quite well done, not predictable in the slightest, and a very interesting story.Written by George Nolfi, who also wrote the Bourne Ultimatum, it's based on a short story by Philip Dick. (I just did a little internet surfing and see there is quite a body of literature by Mr. Dick. I will be checking some out at the local public libes.)

Two lines from The Big Chill are apropros for this film. One: "You just have to let art ..... flow ..... over you." and "I think the man in the hat did something terrible." (both lines were spoken by Williiam Hurt's character, the druggie, Nick.)

From the opening frames, where Damon's character, David Norris, stands inside a building waiting to go out and give a speech, to the frenetic chase near the end, doors and windows feature prominently in this movie. For me, they represented movement, choice, and faith. There was also a sense of being somewhere ("in or contained") and moving toward more freedom and openness. I loved the scenes where the characters went through doors and came out somewhere other than where you would expect. It would be like me opening the back door of my house and stepping into the Little Sahara desert. It seems to me like those who endeavor to live by faith are forever stepping through doors, not knowing exactly what they will find on the other side. It's kind of exciting and dangerous, just like I think faith is.

I'm a big Matt Damon fan. I remember being amazed at his story and his creativity in Good Will Hunting, to being blown away by The Legend of Bagger Vance, to simply enjoying the Bourne series. So, without knowing ANYTHING about this movie, when I received the invitation, I said yes to Matt Damon, basically.

Lots to think about in this movie -- does God intervene in our lives? Does He somehow change His mind based on choices I make? Is He outside time somehow so that He responds to my choices without it meaning He is changing his mind? What might it look like if I could see behind the scenes of my own life? Can something be "wrong" when every single bit of my being tells me it is "right?" How important are feelings in the scheme of things? Do I have free will?

This is a movie that needs to be watched multiple times, and I will be doing just that!

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