Salt Lake Tribune Review
Ryan Bingham doesn't live in the America you and I inhabit.
While we toil at our jobs, anchored to homes and families and a hometown, Ryan -- the main character of
Jason Reitman's smart and knowing comedy-drama "Up in the Air," played by
George Clooney -- flies above it. His job takes him all over the country, and he happily lives out of his single carry-on suitcase.
Ryan's job is a "corporate downsizing consultant," the guy hired to fire people because the bosses are too timid to do it themselves. So when he lands in our America, it's not good news, no matter how sympathetically Ryan tries to sell it.
But as this thoughtful movie gets going, Ryan learns his job also may be in jeopardy. At corporate HQ in Omaha, the boss (
Jason Bateman) is excited about using technology -- firing people, that is, via teleconference. Ryan objects to the plan, but the boss insists on sending the 23-year-old whiz kid who's championing it, Natalie Keener (
Anna Kendrick), on the road with Ryan to see how the job is done.
Ryan shows Natalie the trade secrets of traveling: Never check a bag, never get in the security line behind parents or old people, and do whatever you can to add to your frequent-flier account.
Ryan also lets Natalie see the reality of delivering bad news, in compelling scenes in which he describes a layoff as "a rebirth" or "a wake-up call" so smoothly that the suddenly unemployed don't feel so bad. Sometimes.
But as making connections at airports keeps him from staying connected to his family in Wisconsin (in
Walter Kirn's book, it was Utah), Ryan actually meets someone. She's Alex Goran (played by
Vera Farmiga), a woman who takes nearly as many business trips as he does. They fall almost immediately into bed together, two kindred spirits in a world of arrivals and departures.
The nimble script, adapted from Kirn's novel by
Sheldon Turner and Reitman (who directed "Juno"), sets Ryan in motion criss-crossing the country to face a string of soon-to-be-former employees. Reitman also dissects Ryan's concourse-based existence and examines his philosophy, and what happens when his dream life doesn't turn out so dreamy.
Clooney finds in Ryan the role of his career, and he relishes it. The role at once exploits his movie-star charm and rakish talent for flirtatious banter, and provides emotional depths that reveal his sensitive side.
His work is bolstered by two standout actresses. Farmiga is as smart and sexy as Clooney -- when Alex tells Ryan, "Think of me as yourself, only with a vagina," it's an accurate description of Farmiga's performance. And Kendrick, best known as Bella's human pal Jessica in the "Twilight" films, gives a star-making performance as the tightly wound wunderkind who learns to loosen up.
As much as it is a comedy in the classic Tracy/Hepburn mold, "Up in the Air" is very much a drama of-the-moment. The movie reflects and illuminates the fears of thousands of people losing their jobs, their livelihoods and their purpose for getting up in the morning. "Up in the Air" starts out in the clouds with Ryan, but its heart is down here in this America.
-- Sean P. Means
Hooray for Clooney
Submitted by: chuckpullan
This movie found the perfect balance of laughs and tears. This subject is profound and personal, but I was impressed with the writer's ability to tell the story without making me so angry that I felt like I was in a Michael Moore doc. Yeah I DO consider Moore films DOCUMENTARY!
Smart and funny
Submitted by: tivogirl
Another terrific film from Jason Reitman! You don't have to be a frequent flyer to understand the isolation George Clooney's character so relishes, but it helps. He puts in a fantastic performance, as do the two female leads, both of whom I'm sure we'll see much more of in the future.
The story is smart, funny, moving and doesn't take you exactly where you expect it to, which I loved. This is absolutely one of the best films of the year.
The rundown: Jason Reitman ("Juno") directs this smart, timely comedy-drama follows a corporate downsizer (
George Clooney) who lives for air travel. 109 minutes. (SPM)
Synopsis: Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.
