Up in the Air is a film that could not be more relevant for the times we live in right now (2009). This film includes the harsh reality of people losing their jobs and being fired. Unfortunately, unemployment is a common term right now in America. And Jason Reitman (director of Thank You for Smoking and Juno) creates a story that fits right in to an environment we are all familiar with, but it is not as depressing as it may sound. This is a romantic comedy in a few ways, but it does not necessarily have a happy ending either.
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham and he works for a company that fires people from other companies. Bingham flies around the country and “let’s go” of employees that have employers with no spine. These employers do not have the balls to fire their employees, so they send in a hired gun to take care of their mess.
And Ryan Bingham is good. He is sympathetic to the people, but it is a role that he simply plays. It is just his job. And he is smooth and charming even when he looks them dead in their eyes and tells them everything is going to be okay. The simple fact is he does not know that and he will probably never see them again in his life.
His life is living out of a suitcase. Bingham loves traveling and collecting frequent flyer miles. He hopes to become one of those rare people to hit 10 million frequent flyer miles. It would be a great accomplishment in his life. And he has a system. A nearly flawless system of how to pack and travel. However, when his boss (Jason Bateman) takes an idea from a young hotshot (Anna Kendrick) about firing people over webcams to cut traveling costs, Bingham’s world is turned upside down.
On his last traveling trip, Bingham has to teach the young hotshot, Natalie Keener, the ropes of what he does and how it’s done. This leads to an adventure that surprises Bingham and Keener. Keener gets to see firsthand how they affect each individual’s life when they tell them they no longer have a job, and Bingham is used to being by himself. He has his own schedule and routine and Natalie messes that up, but so does another woman.
Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) is like Ryan, but with a vagina. I borrowed that from the film itself. She has just as many cards as he does, but his miles definitely outweigh her’s. And Bingham starts to fall in love and that never happens to him. He would not allow it. In the end, Ryan and Natalie face the awful truth about their jobs, people, and being in love.
Clooney is top notch in this film. His job is not glamorous and it’s a tough thing to do. But he does it in the best way possible and has complete control over the situation. He never loses his cool. Clooney has had a great year with this film and The Men Who Stare At Goats and providing his voice in Fantastic Mr. Fox. However, this is his best performance this year and ranks right up there with Michael Clayton. This character could have been hated or despised, but when Clooney steps in to the role you cannot help but like him anyways. Don’t get me wrong, Ryan Bingham has feelings and compassion, but he is really good at hiding them sometimes.
Clooney has two stellar actresses around him. Anna Kendrick is great as Natalie. She seems so uptight and by-the-book, but when you break through the surface, she is a different person. A more likable woman and it is because of Kendrick’s performance that these two sides exist and is pulled off so well. Vera Farmiga plays Alex and she gets closer to Ryan than any other person ever has in his life. And their relationship seems simple, but becomes more complex as the film goes on. Love can be a tricky thing.
Give Reitman credit. He made the film work on several different levels, and the story really gives you a dose of reality. This film certainly has the same feel as Thank You for Smoking. This film is a drama with comedic parts in it. It is about a business where no one comes out looking like the good guy. Not even a man like Clooney.
Up in the Air is about the disconnection of a person and the world around him. Bingham was always surrounded by people, but never with people. Until he was able to open his eyes and his heart to a woman and to his family, he realized what was important. It is not the constant travel or the frequent flyer miles or his status. This was just a distraction for Bingham so he would not have to confront and be honest with himself.
This film has a combination of a great director with great actors and a great script to work from. It hits so many emotions and captures a certain atmosphere that hits too close to home. Ryan, Natalie, and Alex all go through some type of transformation. Whether it is good or bad, that is another story.
Up in the Air leaves you with a feeling of perhaps sometimes it is too late to start over. May be you disconnect so deeply at some point that you lose the connection forever. There are so many thoughts and questions about this film and it’s characters. And if a film makes you think then I believe that is a sign of a great, or at least a really good film doing it’s job.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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