Up in the Air

Up in the Air

Up in the Air is an amazing film that balances drama and humor almost effortlessly. Jason Reitman’s direction has finally reached a maturity that puts him up there with some of the better directors out there. Having George Clooney in your movie doesn’t hurt either.

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) has a job firing people from their own jobs. Big companies hire him to gently let go their employees. Bingham enjoys his life of disconnect because he’s always flying from city to city without spending much time in his own home. His world of comfort is turned upside down due to a new hire (Anna Kendrick) changing the way his company does business.

There are moments when you will feel uncomfortable with many of the “They’re letting you go” scenes. These scenes are extremely dark because we see the reactions from the people that get fired from the companies they work for. Many of the people fired by Clooney are in fact real people. It is interesting to see the honest reactions from these real people when they get the news that their company is firing them. All these scenes are bleak and very honest. I enjoyed every minute of it.

The other aspect of the film is George Clooney’s character taking the young Anna Kendrick under his wing to show her his side of work. The teacher/student dynamic is touching and Kendrick is very enchanting and wide-eyed in this role. I really liked her. Clooney is impressive as usual. Look for a great scene with J.K. Simmons also. Vera Farmiga kind of plays the love interest to Clooney’s characters. There is a twist with this character that I will not give away.

The only portion of the movie I didn’t like were the wedding scenes with Clooney dealing with his family. I felt they dragged the movie down just a bit.

Up in the Air is a nice little movie that has a lot to say about life and the choices we make. Up in the Air isn’t prefect, but it was surprisingly a very solid film that shows Jason Reitman’s direction and writing has improved over the years.

Grade: B+