Up in the Air is the ‘dramedy’ new motion picture starring George Clooney, from Jason Reitman (the director of Juno). The movie is based on a 2001 novel about a man named Ryan Bingham. Ryan flies around the country and terminates corporate employees, on behalf of his own employer who is contracted to do so by these companies in trouble. As a result of his almost constant traveling around the country due to his profession, Ryan has distanced himself from his family, any friends, and essentially lives in self-imposed isolation.
The movie takes you through Ryan’s life as a corporate ‘terminator’, and his every day constant traveling from one location to another. Throughout the course of the movie the events that transpire lead Ryan to have an epiphany of sorts, making him wonder if there is more to the life style he has created for himself within his private bubble. As a result of Ryan’s job in the movie the adapted script also deals with today’s economic crisis as well, it’s impact on millions of every day Americans who struggle with their finances, and retaining employment in an unstable market .
The movie itself is very well put together by both cast, and crew. On the performance end, George Clooney puts forth a very entertaining performance as Ryan Bingham. He doesn’t exactly break new ground with this, as George appears to just be playing himself (as he has also done in many movies), but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing; especially when it works. The character of Ryan, and the material both support Clooney’s performance very well, and he was the perfect choice for this type of a role. The supporting cast also all turn in solid performances throughout. Vera Farmiga is fantastic as Ryan’s main love interest, Alex, basically playing a female version of Clooney’s character. A surprisingly really great performance as well comes from Anna Kendrick, playing Natalie, one of Ryan’s coworkers at their firm.
The film is shot fantastically as well, as was Juno. Jason Reitman has a great sensibility about his work as a director, and it shows in his directing approach. He shows that the camera work doesn’t have to be over the top or flashy to have a compelling film, although, on a semi-related note since there is a lot of traveling in the film there are some fantastic aerial shots of all the locations visited throughout the film.
Writing of the film went to Reitman himself, along with Sheldon Turner. Reitman’s father — the legendary Ivan Reitman — served as producer on the movie, although Jason credited his father for writing the “best line in the movie”, implying that perhaps Ivan had some influences on the script as well. In-between Ryan’s own self-discoveries throughout the course of the film, and the extreme relevance the economic crisis plays in the script, it all leads to a very compelling set piece for a film. It’s smart, funny, and most importantly, relatable . There were some folks at the screening dissatisfied with the ending in the script, which [MINOR SPOILER] wasn’t exactly the happy ending you would have wanted to see based on what transpired in the movie. But, in my opinion, based on the material I feel that a happy ending (see Juno) was not needed in this instance. I feel that based on what happened in the movie a happy or cheerful ending may have been easier, but would have taken away from the impact just a bit in the very end of the movie.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this movie once it opens in a theater near you. Great performances, great story telling, and a great message in general really make this movie one of the year’s best films.
Rating: 8.5/10
