Sometimes when a film is getting a lot of awards buzz and there are whispers of it being a strong contender for the Oscars, when you actually watch it you wonder what all the fuss is about. Thankfully with Up In The Air, it’s clear why many have fallen in love with this funny and moving film.
After Thank You For Smoking and Juno, Jason Reitman continues to prove he’s one of the best young directors around with the tale of Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney. Bingham feels he has the perfect life, which largely involves him flying around the US and getting paid for it. Admittedly at the end of each flight it’s his job to help companies fire people, but he doesn’t feel this is a problem, as he’s basically just doing what the companies don’t have the guts to do themselves. Due to his experience he can also hopefully fire people with compassion and stop them getting to angry, thereby avoiding retribution.
Ryan loves his life, which has no responsibility and nothing to tie him down (he’s also a motivational speaker whose mantra is about paring down your life and avoiding prolonged relationships). No one knows him properly and he doesn’t know anyone else, and that’s just the way he likes it, with his entire existence being a series of slick brief encounters. He’s turned getting through airport security into an artform and is more at home in the skies than he is in the apartment that he wishes he didn’t have to have.
However not long after Ryan meets Alex, who may be his perfect woman and who shares his road warrior ways, he’s called back to head office. Young graduate Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) wants to implement a system where people can be fired remotely over the internet, which would save the company money. Ryan feels this is wrong, both because of how cold and impersonal it is, and also because it would mean Ryan would have to give up his beloved jet-setting lifestyle
He’s even more aghast when he’s told that he has to take Keener on the road with him to learn the ropes of firing people. While she comes to realise there is perhaps more compassion in the business of what Ryan does than it first appears, he comes to question his life on the road and whether his opinion that everything from relationships to a home slows you down, means he’s missing out on something important.
Jason Reitman isn’t a particularly flashy director (although he has his moments), but he is a very smart and careful one, making the whole thing look effortless whilst drawing excellent performances out of his cast. The script, by Reitman and Sheldon Turner (based on Walter Kirn’s book) is also exceptionally well written and a very strong contender for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. It’s very funny and light, and yet simultaneously insightful and poignant, packing a hefty emotional punch with its mix of humour, drama and intelligence.
The cast are also pitch-perfect. George Clooney may always play George Clooney, but he does it here with a surprising subtlety, and is brilliantly cast as a man who seems to be living a slick, carefree life but who comes to wonder whether there’s something more he’s missing out on (although the way the film handles this isn’t as pat and generic as you might expect).
It’s a film with a real concern about finding value in life and discovering the humanity of its characters. The clever mix of having a main character whose job is to touch people’s lives at one of their most difficult moments – when they get fired – but whose attitude is all about denying human connection, is a wonderful hook. He’s contrasted again Natalie, who intellectually knows all about people (she has a degree in psychology), but lacks the experience to understand them and believes all the answers come from technology, while Farmiga plays a woman who pretty much confronts Ryan with his female equivalent. Indeed, the verbal sparring between Clooney and Farmiga is absolutely wonderful and surprisingly sexy.
The film has a warmth that’s sweet and refreshing. You actually feel concerned for Ryan when his minimalist existence is rocked by prolonged emotional contact with two women, largely because the film is smart enough not to say there’s no merit to Bingham’s job or the way lives his life. There’s also the realisation that if he did change, the fallout for his sense of identity could be massive. Instead Up In The Air comes up with some interesting and complex answers to the character’s dilemma.
Up In The Air is a rare film where the stars aligned and the director, screenplay and cast have all come together perfectly to create a small gem of a movie. It’s thought-provoking and moving, while barely seeming to break a sweat. Reitman really seems to understand how films work, and has succeeded here in creating a film that reaches much further than most movies can even dream of.
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Overall Verdict: A smart and beautifully made dramedy, with great performances and a surprising amount of intelligence. Expect it to do well when the Oscars roll around.
Reviewer: Sam Bruneau
