Up in the Air

(2009)
I had literally no idea what this movie was about I dont even remember seeing ads for it; the only thing I knew was that George Clooney starred, and Ive seen enough of his movies to know that he makes choices as an actor that I tend to respond well to (Intolerable Cruelty and that awful football movie notwithstanding). Its hard to peg any actor with the title of reliable, but for me Clooney comes awfully close. Anyway, the film follows the story of one Ryan Bingham, a man who works for a firm who sends representatives around the country laying people off. Its an awful job, but Ryan has adjusted to it, and he appears to simply thrive in the little bubble he lives in of deadlines and airports, flights and hotel rooms, instant check-in and repeat performer travel perks (in fact his apartment strongly resembles a hotel room, save that its more sparsely furnished). On some weekends he gives a seminar about whats in your backpack?, where he more or less advises people to shed any attachments they have material and personal and to continue moving, lightly and constantly, as he does. And it seems to work for him. Enter young Natalie (Anna Kendrick), whos fresh out of college and who proposes that all of this laying off of people can be done remotely, over an internet video connection. The company loves the idea for its cost savings, but Ryan panics because his entire world the travel bubble will be dismantled as he will be grounded, working at the home office in Omaha. He naturally rebels, and so a temporary compromise is reached; he will take Natalie into the field to try and prove his point that firing people is not something you can do by assembly-line and script. I dont want to give away much more of the plot because a great deal of it stems from character and perception. Ryan and a woman he hooks up with, a fellow traveler named Alex (Vera Farmiga) -- have a certain point of view, having reached a certain age in their lives alone; while Natalie is all about deadlines and timetables and where she will be when shes thirty. Theres also a smart and powerful discourse in the film about the relative merits of being unattached versus being married and settled, brought sharply into focus when Ryans sister is about to get hitched. This is incredibly sharp and smart filmmaking. Everyone is spot-on Clooney is in top form, and Farmiga owns the role so thoroughly you cant imagine anyone else playing her. Kendrick, whose Anna clashes with our expectations for a long while, does a terrific job despite the fact that we are specifically set up not to like her. Jason Bateman has a small role as Clooneys boss, and hes excellent as well. Everyone is here. The script is intelligent, the directing is top notch this is a very well-made and intelligent film that will stay with you after youve seen it. Its disappointing to think that I never heard of a movie like this while I cant escape

the ads for retarded fare like Shrek IV and Iron Man II and so on, but, well, sometimes you have to dig for the diamonds, I guess. June 1, 2010