Movie No. 91 (2013): THE ADJUSTER
The Adjuster (1991)
Director: Atom Egoyan
Cast: Elias Koteas, Arsinee Khanjian, Maury Chaykin
The narrative style that Atom Egoyan used in this film is reminiscent of his other film Exotica. The style fits the latter better making the movie a masterpiece, while only to some extent in The Adjuster. To some controlled extent, a derivative of style was also used in The Sweet Hereafter, making the film a masterpiece, too. The style that I am referring to is the director's predilection to presenting consecutive (or sparsely distributed) scenes that seem to be unrelated, which only make sense in the end. In this film, we see an insurance loss adjuster who specializes in arson rush to a property that is on fire on two different occasions. He is also shown in some scenes bedding his clients. The couple, together with their son and the wife's sister, live in a model housing in a property that has been abandoned by the developer. We see several scenes in which the adjuster's wife is shown viewing pornographic films which she evaluates and censors. And then there's a disturbing image of a well-dressed woman, in a train, making out with a street vagrant in filthy clothes. Then there's this rich man who gives in to the perverted fantasies of his wife. And so on...
Director: Atom Egoyan
Cast: Elias Koteas, Arsinee Khanjian, Maury Chaykin
The narrative style that Atom Egoyan used in this film is reminiscent of his other film Exotica. The style fits the latter better making the movie a masterpiece, while only to some extent in The Adjuster. To some controlled extent, a derivative of style was also used in The Sweet Hereafter, making the film a masterpiece, too. The style that I am referring to is the director's predilection to presenting consecutive (or sparsely distributed) scenes that seem to be unrelated, which only make sense in the end. In this film, we see an insurance loss adjuster who specializes in arson rush to a property that is on fire on two different occasions. He is also shown in some scenes bedding his clients. The couple, together with their son and the wife's sister, live in a model housing in a property that has been abandoned by the developer. We see several scenes in which the adjuster's wife is shown viewing pornographic films which she evaluates and censors. And then there's a disturbing image of a well-dressed woman, in a train, making out with a street vagrant in filthy clothes. Then there's this rich man who gives in to the perverted fantasies of his wife. And so on...
The good thing about the movie is that it maintains the mystery until a few minutes before the final credits. It's like a jigsaw puzzle in which you get satisfaction from connecting the pieces and eventually see the complete picture.
Rating: 3.5/4.0
Date seen: April 13, 2013
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