A key film in the Toronto New Wave and one of the most acclaimed works in director Atom Egoyan's career, The Adjuster was also voted one of the best Canadian films ever made in a 1993 poll conducted by the Toronto International Film Festival Group. It represents a culmination of Egoyan's early career and undoubtedly consolidated his international reputation as a major artist.
We're delighted to screen this new print, struck to celebrate the appearance of a new book devoted entirely an in-depth examination of the film. Its author, cinema scholar Tom McSorley, describes The Adjuster as being a “combination of alienation, isolation and impeded intimacy.” His book is the first full-length study of the film, tying it and its creator to the modernist, satirical tradition of such international figures like Luis Buñuel.
The film is deeply unsettling, with a witty thread of dark humour running just below its surface. Much of it is stylized and detached but Egoyan does a brilliant job describing the insecurities of people living in an urban landscape full of surprises. It centres upon a suave insurance agent, Noah Render (Elias Koteas), as he ministers to clients whose lives have been touched by tragedy. On the outside, he is stolidly compassionate, though he takes no responsibility when the claims are, inevitably, held up in limbo.
Noah's wife, Hera (Arsinée Khanjian), has an equally strange job, working as a film censor where she's confronted with all manner of sordid smut. She responds to it with preternatural calm, videotaping the most shocking stuff for her sister. They all live in a model home (complete with fake books on the shelves) in a largely unpopulated aborted suburban development called Sherwood Forest.
The film's other major players are a wealthy brother-sister team of fetishists (Maury Chaykin and Gabrielle Rose), who act out the most bizarre fantasies on an epic, often public scale, while Jennifer Dale, David Hemblen and Don McKellar round out the stellar cast.
Stylized, audacious and fiercely intelligent, The Adjuster was shot by the great Paul Sarossy in exquisite wide screen, which only emphasizes the emotional distance between characters. It stands as one of the pinnacles of Egoyan's remarkable career.
Steve Gravestock
Special thanks to Marcy Gerstein.
Atom Egoyan was born in Cairo and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. In addition to filmmaking, he has directed a number of opera productions and exhibited his art installations internationally. His films, which have received several of cinema’s most prestigious awards, are
Next of Kin (84),
Family Viewing (87),
Speaking Parts (89),
The Adjuster (91),
Calendar (93),
Exotica (94),
The Sweet Hereafter (97),
Felicia’s Journey (99),
Krapp’s Last Tape (00),
Ararat (02),
Where the Truth Lies (05),
Adoration (08) and
Chloe (09), which is also playing in this year’s Festival.