Some might call it a gift to be able to revel in one’s misery. Others may call it cruel and unusual. One man calls it his life. In “Up In The Air,” we watch as lives are led astray due to corporate downsizing, and the man at the source of it all finds himself on the receiving end of a metaphorical blow — leaving him to pick up the pieces as well.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) works for Integrated Strategic Management, a company who sends out strong-willed people to perform the jobs of cowardly bosses who can’t stomach the act of firing an employee. He uses his discreet charm and clever phrases to make these weakened people feel at ease as they enter a rough section of their lives.
Ryan loves his job and has a particular goal in mind. Over the years of flying around the country from city to city, he has accumulated a nearly insurmountable amount of miles. As he nears the ten million mark, his job is being threatened by young college graduate Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who has created a system that allows the company to fire people via video chat. Ryan convinces his boss Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman) to continue in the air for a short while longer, but with one exception — Natalie will accompany him. Ryan takes this as an opportunity to defend the way he performs his job by convincing Natalie it’s inhumane to fire people over the computer.
Along the way, he meets up with Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) — the female version of Ryan. With his way of life in jeopardy, Ryan starts reevaluating his dedication to meaningless relationships and thinks it might be time to settle down.
In his third effort, Jason Reitman gives us another witty yet sobering film that makes us all glad we watched it in the end. His style is so hard to define. He seems to be the bridge between indie film and mainstream — not quite leaning towards one side or the other. “Up in the Air” is without a doubt his most humanistic and attention-grabbing film to date.
I, like everyone else, have a man crush on George Clooney. I did however think his acting style can be very repetitive and boring at times. That being said, his performance as Ryan Bingham completely changed my mind. He shows more emotion in this role than he has ever before, as we get to see a glimpse of his range as an actor.
The supporting roles were exceptional. Anna Kendrick is sublime as the uptight young woman who thinks she has her life planned out. I especially enjoy a very comical scene where she has a breakdown in the middle of a hotel lobby.
Last but not least, Vera Farmiga and Danny McBride were very comforting in their respected roles. McBride, who strayed away from his typical character, was not exceptional in any way, but left us with a good impression that he might venture back into unfamiliar roles again.
“Up in the Air” is one of my favorite films of the year. It contains all the ingredients necessary to produce a great film and then some. It is a clear shoe in for the “Best Picture” and “Best Director” categories at the Oscars. If you see one more film this year it has to be this one.