If you have ever lost a job, or been close to someone who has, expect tears while watching Up in the Air. But you should also expect a smart, funny and insightful film.  Add George Clooney to that, and things are almost perfect.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) travels the country firing people for companies who “don’t have the courage to sack their own employees.” Ryan makes an art of being an efficient traveler and laments the 47 days he must spend at home in his small sterile apartment. He is estranged from his family and has no close relationships. Ryan seems a bit cold, but he finds his new coworker Natalie (Anna Kendrick) a bit heartless when she wants to fire people using web cams.  When their boss Craig (Jason Bateman) sends them on the road together, both begin to change their minds about life and work.  Ryan finds romance with a female version of himself, fellow traveler Alex (Vera Farmiga), but in both his career and personal life, there is turbulence ahead.

The part of Ryan gives the consistently excellent Clooney a chance to show his wit, charm and vulnerability.  Clooney is in just about every scene in the film but I never tired of him. He even made his numerous voiceovers fresh and interesting. He does a good job of showing the callous side of Ryan as he fires people and then seems to forget them, but shows Ryan’s empathy as he passionately argues with Craig and Natalie that these fired employees need a live person there on what may be one of the worst days of their lives. He moves at a fast pace through airports, using crisp, excited  movements to show how much Ryan loves the parts of traveling that most people dread.  With good comic timing, he advises Natalie about how to be a better traveler (“Never get behind old people, their bodies are littered with hidden metal.”) and a better employee (he diffuses the anger of a fired employee by finding out his interests and encouraging him to follow his dreams). Anna Kendrick, who provided much needed comic relief in Twilight and New Moon, conveys the right combination of sincerity, ambition and innocence. Even when she describes Ryan as “old” and tells Alex that she hopes to look like her in 15 years, Kendrick still manages to make Natalie likeable and not annoying. Kendrick’s scenes with Clooney are fun to watch.  

Clooney has good chemistry (how can anyone not have good chemistry with him?) with co-star Vera Farmiga, as Alex and Ryan have athletic sex in hotel rooms. However, the sexiest scene in the film has Alex and Ryan comparing credit cards and frequent flier miles. Ryan demurs when asked about his number, but Alex is persistent. Farmiga is sophisticated and sexy as she lowers her eyes and spreads her hands asking, “Is it this big?” Clooney looks down and smiles, “I don’t want to brag.”

Up in the Air contains many scenes of people reacting to losing their jobs, and these are the film’s most emotional scenes. The filmmakers used real recently laid off people in most of these scenes, and watching them tell their stories and share their fears about their children, mortgages and insurance, is all the more powerful because they are not actors. Maybe knowing that many other people have recently found themselves in similar situations during this recession makes these scenes more potent.  Actors J.K. Simmons (Bob) and Zach Galifianakis (Steve) round out these scenes with strong supporting performances. These scenes also provide real insight into the feelings of Ryan and Natalie, who are more affected by the demands of their jobs than they initially seem.

 Director Jason Reitman shows again the deftness and subtlety he employed when directing   Juno and Thank You for Smoking. The film moves at a good pace without sacrificing character development.  Reitman also co-wrote the smart screenplay, which was based on Walter Kirn‘s well received novel.  I will not give away the ending, but I am very glad the filmmakers resisted giving Up in the Air a more traditional Hollywood ending. “Moving is living,” Ryan intones during one of his motivational speaking engagements.  As his travels lead him to new insights and change, he learns that he is right, although in a way much different than he first thought.

Up in the Air.  Directed by Jason Reitman.  George Clooney (Ryan Bingham)Vera Farmiga(Alex Goran) Anna Kendrick(Natalie Keener), Jason Bateman (Craig Gregory), Melanie Lynskey(Julie Bingham), J.K. Simmons(Bob), Sam Elliott (Maynard Finch)and Zach Galifianakis(Steve) Paramount Pictures, 2009.

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

Tweet  Print This Post

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies // Add Comment »