THE ADJUSTER (1991) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: Atom Egoyan Starring: Elias Kosteas, Arsinée Khanjian, Maury Chaykin, Gabrielle Rose, David Hemblen, Jennifer Dale, Don McKellar, Rose Sarkisyan, Armen Kokorian, Jacqueline Samuda, Gérard Parkes, Patricia Collins, Stephen Ouimette, Raoul Trujillo, Tony Nardi, Paul Bettis
One of the true joys in this life is watching an Atom Egoyan film. The Armenian-Canadian director of such films as "Speaking Parts," "Exotica," and "The Sweet Hereafter" structures his films like no one else does: as a complicated puzzle of characters that the viewer has to piece together. Events are presented in a bizarre manner with no explanation, but later on, they are never blatantly explained, but cunningly hinted at. While this may piss off a lotta people, who are more adept at trying to sympathize with someone and make a straight-laced film out of it, others will find it to be as enjoyable as doing the Jumbo every day.
There's not really any plot, but we do get three weird tales interlacing with one another throughout the film. The Insurance Adjuster of the title is Noah (Elias Kosteas), who's job it is to claim everything that was lost in an accident, and generally take care of his clients. But Noah is a workaholic. He works any hour of the day to help out his clients in any way possible, even sexually.
He lives in a house with his family in a once-budding development that went bankrupt in production and left it being the only house built amongst the dirt. Around their house are signs for houses to be built later on, but no soon signs of any development. In the house with him is his wife, Hera (Egoyan's real wife, Arsinée Khanjian), their son (Armen Kokorian), and Hera's sister (Rose Sarkisyan), who we barely see.
Meanwhile Hera works as a film censor, watching pornographic films all day, and pushing buttons to show each censoring problem with the films. However, she brings along a small camcorder with her to tape them uneditied. Does she get off on it? Is there another reason she does it? But the answer will come soon after a young censor (Don McKellar) catches her and alerts her violation to their boss (Egoyan regular David Hemblen).
The other story deals with a bizarre rich couple - Bubba and Mimi (other Egoyan regulars, Maury Chaykin and Gabrielle Rose, respectively) - who use their wealth to stage bizarre fantasy acts, sometimes dealing with some kind of weird sex act. Their first scene in the film shows Bubba disguised as a bum on a subway train (where Hera is) and Mimi dressed like a business woman, and her sitting next to him, grabbing his hand, and sticking it up her skirt.
Every scene in the film has a weird, unnerving feeling, and is presented in the most loose, and surreal manner possible. Every scene is presented this way because Egoyan wants us to piece everything together, and therefore every scene is at least 70% more weird than it would be if we knew the facts surrounding it. A lot of people who see his films will probably walk out or give up early on in the film because they're presented this way, and those who stay might not even understand it completely by the final frame. I can't say I can explain this perfectly, but the film has remained with me, it's images and scenes stapled into my brain to think about over and over again.
Although the film has a bizarre and creepy atmosphere, Egoyan has said that this is basically a black comedy. The characters all do bizarre things, and the only reason we don't laugh at many of the things they do (although I did crack up in a scene where Mimi pretends to be a flirtatious cheerleader in front of about six horny football players) is because we're not sure what to think of them until later on in the film. This kind of struture allows many things to become a mystery even after the film and to alienate its viewer's emotionally.
But this film is not trying to depress us or even make us cry. It's a puzzle, with lots of themes going through it about materialism and sex being presented, not a normal film with characters you can sympathize with or a plot you can follow without thinking. Egoyan's films, especially his earlier kinkier films, are an aquired taste, mainly constructed for people who love to do all sorts of puzzles, but those who do must also be able to tolerate all sorts of bizarre sexual instances. But if you can piece it together, it's extremely rewarding.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
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