Considering how much time he spends in the air, Ryan Bingham’s (George Clooney) goals in life aren’t too lofty. His sights are currently set on reaching 10 million miles on his frequent flier account and beyond that I guess the friendly skies are his oyster, but he doesn’t seem to show any interest in grabbing hold of the pearl.
Ryan flies 270 days a year and lives out of his carry-on as he moves from city-to-city as, what he calls, a Termination Facilitator. Yup, how’s that for reflecting the nation’s current employment climate? Ryan works for a termination outsourcing company that sends people out to do the job corporate big wigs are too scared to do. He’ll fire you, hand you a packet and give you a few words of encouragement to help you along your way to a “better” life.
Up In the Air finds its legs as Anna Kendrick playing a young upstart named Natalie enters the picture and suggests rather than flying people all over the country, the company could simply set up a video conferencing service and do it all remotely. I mean, who doesn’t want to hear they just lost their job from someone they’ve never met on a computer monitor…? Right? Seeing this in action is heart-breaking.
Addicted to his lifestyle for reasons you can most likely assume, Ryan isn’t interested in the cubicle and headset alternative, but before it can be implemented he is forced to show Natalie how it’s done in the field. Kendrick is the spark to Clooney’s terminal bouncing, jet set lifestyle. She’s young, ambitious and full of life and on the road, firing people just doesn’t suit her. So why is she doing it? Ah ha, here in lies my takeaway.
How many of us work jobs that came to us from a friend or we sort of just fell into them? Is your current job part of your desired career path? Is it your dream job? Up In the Air‘s greatest moment deals with these questions directly in an exchange between Clooney and J.K. Simmons playing one of Ryan Bingham’s unfortunate “victims.” It’s an exchange that establishes much of the film’s remaining momentum, but the story is never able to reach that peak again.
As an acting piece, Up In the Air is excellent and the casting couldn’t have been any better. Clooney is as comfortable in the film’s slick-yet-sterile airport settings as he seems uncomfortable in the story’s latter family settings. Kendrick is the firecracker with all of the emotional baggage and while a tear-filled scene midway through the film really didn’t work for me, without her energy this film may have never got off the ground.
Vera Farmiga is the other lady in Ryan’s life as she too lives out of her suitcase. The two compare mileage plans, debate rental car agencies and examine their schedules to set-up city-by-city rendezvous. Farmiga has always proven to be a talent and she has never been better than she is here. Her scenes with Clooney prove he doesn’t always have to be the one doing the upstaging. In fact, that’s one of the best things about Up In the Air. Clooney maintains his presence on screen, but it isn’t all about him as it is so often in the majority (if not all) of his movies. Kendrick and Farmiga are both given characters with plenty of weight and both are left to put George in his place if need be.
Finally we have Jason Bateman who plays Clooney’s boss and does so convincingly all while delivering the film’s most stinging jab. Unemployment’s on the rise? “Now’s our time,” he says with a smile. It’s a line that could make you sick. It’s a risky move on Reitman’s part and for the most part he pulls it off.
While I’m not going to be joining the bandwagon claiming Up In the Air is some kind of masterpiece, it tells me Reitman is close to delivering one. His films have always shown he is a considerable talent and that he also has something to say. With Up In the Air (and Juno as well) I got lost in that tiny element that truly is what makes his films a “Jason Reitman film” and one of these days (hopefully sooner rather than later) he’s going to deliver one that truly speaks to me. He certainly is a director quickly headed for auteur status, which isn’t something I can say for most.
