Up in the Air
Watching the newest trailer for "Up in the Air" -- or just looking at the people involved -- you might not expect an amazingly executed movie that resonates with just about everyone. You might be tempted to write it off as a dramedy light on depth and heavy on laughs. But that would be a mistake, because "Up in the Air" is one of the best, and most devastatingly relevant, movies of the year.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) flies a lot. So much, in fact, that he's aiming to become one of the select few to reach 10 million miles. Why does he travel so much? His job is to fire people whose bosses are too lazy or scared to do it themselves. Strangely, Ryan loves his life and loathes the few days of the year he spends at home.
However, his way of life is challenged when an Ivy League go-getter (Anna Kendrick) joins his company and decides to economize by firing over webcams. Ryan is outraged, not only because it will finally root him somewhere but also because it's downright cruel. His unmoved boss (Jason Bateman) asks him to show the new girl the ropes as they prepare her revolutionary system.
Ryan also meets his female equivalent (Vera Farmiga) along the way, and considers abandoning their shared commitment phobia for a more significant relationship.
Director Jason Reitman's past two films have been sharp and affecting but mainly hilarious. However, in "Up in the Air," humor takes a backseat to misery and uncertainty. The result is Reitman's most somber and meaningful movie yet. Given the current economy, the overarching themes of lost jobs and lost direction hit painfully home, lending an emotional rawness to the film. This is conveyed largely through montages of Ryan's victims (including a brilliantly acted scene with J.K. Simmons) and documentary-style talking heads of the recently fired. The sets of isolating airports and the cloudy/snowy Midwest also add to the movie's overall bleakness.
Clooney anchors the movie superbly, both nailing his zingers and drawing enormous sympathy for his antihero. You may spend the beginning of "Up in the Air" amused by Ryan's unconventional philosophy, yet as he begins to realize its shallowness, you can't help but share in his sadness. It doesn't hurt that Clooney is complemented wonderfully by Farmiga and Kendrick. Farmiga has great chemistry with him, creating a character just as slick and cool as Ryan and even Clooney himself. Meanwhile, Kendrick, most well-known for the less than critically adored "Twilight," is astonishingly good as an uptight overachiever with far more insecurities than she lets on.
Then again, maybe her turn shouldn't be so astonishing, for, as "Thank You for Smoking" and "Juno" show, Reitman knows how to direct his actors. He helps create absolutely engrossing dramatic scenes and has kept many comedians from going too over-the-top. Zach Galifianakis, for instance, is uncharacteristically restrained in his brief scene in "Up in the Air." But Reitman also gets great comedic timing and delivery from all of his performers, no matter their background. He may only have three movies under his belt, but from the looks of them, he has a fantastic career ahead of him.
And who knows? Maybe if he plays his cards right, that up-and-comer Clooney has some good work awaiting him, too.
