Directed by: Jason Reitman
Certificate: 15
Runtime: 109 minutes
UK release date: 15 January 2010:
In a nutshell: Clooney better than ever in a charmingly cynical – or possibly cynically charming - satire.
January, it must be said, is a cracking month for films. We've
already had Andy Serkis acting everybody else off the screen in Sex
& Drugs & Rock & Roll. We've got the jaw-dropping A
Prophet to come in a week or so, and the harrowing but brilliant
Precious at the end of the month.
And if three undoubted five star films wasn't enough - and many
will argue The Road should be included too - along comes Jason
"Juno" Reitman and George "new Cary Grant" Clooney to throw another
one into the mix.
Up In The Air is, at a basic level, a cynical, corporate satire in
the spirit of Reitman's previous Thank You For Smoking. However,
with Clooney effortlessly mixing charm and bile and a structure
that throws in some surprises and an off-kilter love story, Up In
The Air hits more modern targets than that previous film and
delivers it all in a package that has a much greater, more human
edge. It is, in short, a delight: a wise, witty, pointed film
with a considerable, if frequently bitter, heart.
Clooney plays Ryan Bingham. His business card says he's a "Career
Transition Counsellor", a nicer way of saying "professional
downsizer". Ryan's job sees him flying back and forth across the US
sacking people on behalf of other, more cowardly, companies.
It's a lifestyle that means Ryan doesn't have to build
relationships, spend time with his family or ever face up to the
loneliness that might surface if he spends too much time in his
basic apartment. Instead, most days of the year, he can slip into a
world of executive travel, fast track perks and, most importantly,
frequent flyer miles, as his driving ambition is to join the select
few who have notched up ten million air miles.
It's not necessarily much of a life, but it's his life. And, right
now, it's under threat from Natalie (a revelatory performance from
Kendrick), the new company wunderkind with an allegedly great,
money saving idea. Why fly across country to make people redundant
when you can do it remotely over the web?
With Ryan's very existence - and burgeoning sort-of romance with
fellow business flyer Alex (Farmiga) - facing redundancy, he
decides to fight tooth and manicured nail to defend his lifestyle.
In the process of showing Natalie the error of her 2.0 ways, Ryan
starts to discover that, actually, ten million air miles might not
be the secret of life after all.
Up In The Air could, so easily, have slipped into the darkest
reaches of cynicism with no redeeming qualities. That it has so
many is testament to Reitman's lightness of touch, a screenplay
that manages to acknowledge and lance the current economic climate
without ever going near a soapbox, exquisite cameos from, amongst
others, J K Simmons, Zach Galifianakis and Jason Bateman, and, most
of all, its leads. Kendrick (best known as the friend in Twilight)
and Farmiga (best known for, er, nothing really) are the biggest
surprises, but both have embraced this major career opportunity
with style and both look likely to pick up deserved Oscar
nods.
But at the heart of it all is Clooney. We know he can do charming,
we know he can act, we know he's got the intelligence to pick a
decent project. Never though have his various strengths come
together so perfectly: this is A list star going A+. Others
would have coasted on their good looks and charisma - and the film
would still have been a treat. Clooney though shows the real man
behind Ryan's elegant facade, giving Up In The Air a rare depth and
poignancy. You never want to oversell, or overhype a movie but this
is a bone fide modern classic.
