Up in the Air

There is no question that George Clooney's star is among one of the brightest in Hollywood, his new movie Up in the Air shows how bright it can be.

Jason Reitman began writing this script in 2002. It was supposed to be his directorial debut, but then the opportunity to direct Thank you for Smoking and Juno came along so he put the project on hold. Then you know how the story went: housing market tanked, banks became bankrupt, and joblessness flew higher than ever. All of a sudden this movie became topical and hit at the right moment.

BRIEF SPOILER (more like an introductory summary) ALERT
Clooney's character Ryan Bingham has what would seem like the unsavory job of firing people, he is brought in when the managers don't have the sack to do it themselves. His character may or may not enjoy his work but he is good at it and he loves the perks. The perks being frequent flier miles, and elite customer service by the hotel staff and car rentals he does business with. His life on the road is in jeopardy when a young upstart reduces the amount of travel by having the firings take place over the web (think skype with nothing but bad news).
FIN

Clooney turns on the charm as only he can, any other actor playing the lead character Ryan Bingham may have ruined the movie. He makes a ruthless terminator which has severed all human connections seem endearing. The character is slick and witty, everything the aspiring business executive would want to be.

There to challenge Bingham's lifestyle is love interest Alex Goran, played by Vera Farminga, and young upstart Natalie Keener, played by Anna Kendrick. Alex is more or less Bingham with a vagina. They are turned on by elite status and revel in their lifestyle on the road. Farminga goes toe to toe with Clooney and comes out a winner. Most actresses and actors alike may become intimidated, she responds to it. Farminga shows just as much class and wit as Clooney does. She has shown her ability to interact with top names before (such as DiCaprio and Damon, in the same movie) and i hope it is seen that she is not just a character actor, she's a movie star.

Natalie is a younger version of Ryan Bingham, while she may have qualms with the type of work she is doing she wants nothing more than please her boss, played by Jason Bateman. Bateman preforms outstandingly in an ensemble role as would be expected (Jason, please stay away from roles where you're asked to shoulder all the weight like the abysmal comedy Extract, thank you.) Kendrick can make you want to kick her in the face and comfort her all within 10 minutes. Truly showing powerful range, her performance steals the show away from Clooney at certain points in the movie.

The dialogue is quick and witty, only accentuated by the perfect casting of the movie. One of the most powerful bits of scripted dialogue comes when the three main characters share their views on life, love, and business. The other moments that prove gut-wrenching is when the people are actually being fired. Rather then cast actors, besides a few notables, Reitman decides instead to cast people in St. Louis and Detroit who have actually lost their jobs.

The movie takes a turn with the tone in the third act emotionally losing a bit of its biting satirical wit for something softer. This may lose some people in the audience but here is where I really connected with the character. The message of the movie may be laid on a little thick but it doesn't take away from its strength.

Up in the Air does everything right, from the writing, to the casting, to the music selection. This movie is going to hit close to home for a lot of people right now. If people in Hollywood could churn out more movies like this there would be a lot more job security in the studios. A-