When companies downsize, and they don’t want to cause a violent scene, they call in Ryan Bingham (George Clooney). Ryan travels the skies to each tumultuous destination ready to tell you to pack up your belonging and return your keycard. He’s perfected his craft to the extent that he leads seminars over it. He’s even found co-ed with similar interest by the name of Alex (Vera Farmiga).
Situations as perfect as Vera’s body double don’t last forever, and thus technology is catching up with Ryan. In comes Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrik) a fresh face who wants to overhaul the business of telling people they are out of business by cutting out the wanton flying and do it all over iChat. Of course this would put an end to life as Ryan knows it, so in a final attempt to from being grounded for life, Ryan convinces the brass to forgo the new system, the only catch is that he has to escort Natalie and show her how firing works in the real world.
Up in the Air sounds like a tired story in new clothing, but collective efforts make it entertaining. Clooney is surely going to get wide acclaim over this role, and he’s deservingly solid. I’m not convinced that Ryan Bingham isn’t a variation on George Clooney, an actor who believes he’s Batman. It’s no stretch, but that doesn’t mean that you should punish Bret Favre for still playing football.
Chemistry is certainly worth noting because Up in the Air juggles the romantic angle between Clooney and Farmiga, but doesn’t neglect the master and apprentice role with Kendrik. There’s a fun amount of satire to be found in conversations about where to save the most on the road, which hotel has the best royalty card, and especially how to get through the airport quickly. Directed by Jason Reitman of Juno and Thank You For Smoking, Up in the Air reminds me more of the latter where because of the corporate ties and the efficiency of the protagonists.
Maybe I’ll never understand just how cool it is to break style mid-film, but the random handheld shots annoyed me. This happens seldom, but every time a director walks the route it simply draws attention toward the craft and away from the characters, even worse I doubt audiences are impressed that you can mimic their home videos. On another note, establishing new settings with a bird’s-eye view is as creative as it is meaningful for this particular film.
Sometimes bleak, sometimes heartwarming (pilots are to adults what Santa is to the kiddies), but through and through entertaining. Unique dynamic characters, an occasional laugh, and a heart, place Up in the Air above many similar films. If you are looking for a dark horse Oscar contender, Up in the Air may just contain the performances and directing that the Academy favors. ***
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