Up in the Air

Up in the Air (2009)

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynsky

Summing-up, Up-Front:

No man is an island, but Ryan Bingham has a system in place that makes him a mobile island, spending most of his life in the air, going from place-to-place delivering some of the worst news a person could deliver and is never really touched by it. George Clooney teams with director Jason Reitman to bring a story that is seemingly light and airy at times, but really is much harder edged as Ryan tries to keep on the move and out of touch.

How can you tell if someone is truly happy with the way they live their life or if they are using a set of elaborate cover ups to mask deep seated pain or fear?

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) spends an inordinate amount of time on planes traveling around the country. It's to such an extreme that he has given up any permanent residence. And to add to the scenario, his job when he gets to these locations is to fire people. He works for a company who is employed to come into troubled business and sack people. Talk about unpleasant jobs. But Ryan glibly goes from place-to-place never connecting with the people he has to break bad news to. He has a well-hone procedure that seems to cover all the contingencies of reactions as he ushers them from employment to uncertainty and fear.

With all his travel, Ryan has a goal -- 10,000,000 miles. It's an stunning number considering that fewer people have accumulated that many miles than have walked on the moon. He has traveling down to a science, knowing what luggage to carry, what lines to get into, and how to never pay for a meal that doesn't get him more miles. And he seems happy as a clam while he is at this as he solos around the country.

A chance encounter with a fellow road warrior named Alex (Farmiga) leads to a relationship based on coincidental plane hops around the country. She matches him stride-for-stride in traveling acumen and also in detached, surface level charm. Their relationship seems to meet their basic needs as they hook-up in different cities when their travels coincide.

But things go awry for Ryan when his boss (Bateman) introduces a new young employee who has an idea to revolutionize their business while nearly eliminating all need to travel. Natalie (Kendrick) is fresh with B-School and has all the brash confidence it can imbue her with. Ryan finds her ideas ludicrous and also as a threat to his way of life, but his boss sees a way to maximize profits. To better season the young Natalie in the ways of the business, the boss pairs Natalie with Ryan and they hit the road.

So, off they go and Natalie finds the business of firing people to be quite unpleasant, but she soldiers on. While on this sojourn, Ryan is able to make another hook-up with Alex and then gives her an unlikely invitation to attend his sister's wedding as his date. Estranged from his family primarily because if his nomadic lifestyle, he is forced to face a past and a family that wants to reconnect with him. Other pressures mount up and Ryan now stands at a precipice -- should we re-join the world or stay the course on his solo adventure.

This story is about pairing (or not pairing) and the real success of the movie is the pairing of George Clooney with director Jason Reitman. Clooney exudes a roguish, anti-authoritarian charm which suits this character so well. This character is by no means a tortured and reluctant loner. He's comfortable and confident in his habits and relishes his ability to stay on the move. He doesn't come across as a jaded individual, but a pragmatist who knows a little too much about the world to trust it. Reitman knows when to focus in on the details and when to give the big picture. There's a balancing act with this movie because there are moments of hilarity and times of deep poignancy and Reitman shows great skill in make both work together and not compete.

My only qualm with the movie is that we never really know what or if the Bingham character was driven to this lifestyle or if chose it voluntarily.

Up in the Air a very good movie. Clooney allows us to see him as middle aged man and that brings us closer to making a connection with his character. Vera Farmiga fits comfortably with Clooney and Kendrick brings wonderful combination of innocence and ambition to her role.

This will deservedly get attention at Oscar time. If you want an adult drama with just the right mix of comedy and poignancy, then Up in the Air is the movie for you.