Up in the Air

Directed By: Jason Reitman

Written By: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliot, Zach Galifianakis, and Danny McBride

Director of Photography: Eric Steelberg, Editor: Dana Glauberman, Production Designer: Steve Saklad, Original Music: Rolfe Kent

Rated: R for language and some sexual content.

    There’s this moment when I’m flying that always happens. The plane is about twenty minutes from touchdown. My iPod has been stored away. My book is finished. I’ve even made it through Sky Magazine’s fluff stories. All I have is a small view of the world below and my thoughts. The insanity of work, classes, and the future go quiet, and what really matters to me comes through my head. What do I really want to see when I land?

  I open with this personal story for my review of Up in the Air, not because I think its directly relevant, but because I think it gets at one of the major themes of the latest from director Jason Reitman. When there is nothing left, what can we hold onto? Mr. Reitman’s third film, adapted from a Walter Kirn novel from 2001, is a surprisingly depressing and thoughtful comedy that may not be a perfect film, but one that many people can relate to in its  timeliness. While Mr. Reitman’s previous features, the snarky and witty Thank You for Smoking and the love-it-hate-it Juno, have been fun and light, Up in the Air attempts to ground itself in a real life crisis, even while enjoying its pleasures.

    The ever-likable George Clooney uses his suave and charm to enter the world of Ryan Bingham, who is a disconnected and cruel individual. Bingham works for an agency that lends him off to companies to fire people for them (most of the fired individuals, save for some recognizable faces, are actual laid off employees). Bingham loves this job, because home in Omaha is just an address—his real home is the first class seats, the luxury lounges, and the high priced hotel rooms. Bingham knows he is despicable, and if it weren’t for Mr. Clooney’s natural screen presence, it would be tough to enter this world.

    So enter drama when two very different women enter his life. The first is Alex (Vera Farmiga), Bingham’s female counterpart that also lives a life on the road. The two’s natural love of shallow lives and little human connection make their romance both refreshingly charming, but surprisingly empty. The other girl is a young girl named Natalie, played by Anna Kendrick. Natalie comes to Bingham’s office with a proposal to change Bignham’s job to a video conference system, making his high priced life useless and his goal of 10 million miles unachievable. Bingham’s boss (Jason Bateman, underplaying his usual charm) sends Natalie out with Bingham, and the two begin as old school player teaches new school naïveté his genius, but Mr. Reitman steers away from anything too cliché.

    As the film continues on, it becomes surprisingly sentimental and often downright depressing. Although the jokes jump here and there, the strangely hopeless struggle for all three of these characters to continue on is constantly pushed. Ms. Kendrick, a newcomer only recognizable to teenage girls for her supporting role in the Twilight films, hits these notes dead on. Her quick and dry wit makes her a match for Clooney, yet her shallow ability to keep herself so stale make her a perfect foil for herself. When she lets loose at one point that is both sad and humorous, she pulls it off by releasing emotion in a way that while absurd, feels authentic.

    As Up in the Air takes off with a bang and lands with some strong questions and themes, but some of the journey is a little shaky. Mr. Reitman, too young to make too many bold strokes, often relies on music over silence, joys over emotions. In such a dark story, Mr. Reitman pushes to keep his audience happy, and to shine things in a good light. Some of this works, while some comes off as flat. Mr. Clooney, giving a performance that becomes extremely complex as he falls into confusion about the real needs in life, is deeply resonating, and keeps the material afloat as it tends to drift. While Mr. Clooney has played tough guy to love before, Up in the Air challenges him to grab onto something, anything, as he realizes his philosophy unravels right before his eyes.

    Up in the Air will certainly strike chords in many audiences, and certainly deserves to do so. But sometimes it feels like it is just plucking at them instead of harmonizing them. Mr. Reitman has chosen an ambitious project to adapt, and certainly has done well with the material, though I think he could have done better. But what would Up in the Air been then? A surprisingly heartfelt comedy about finding something to hold onto in life, or a depressing exploration of our failing world? Mr. Reitman may have chosen to be a bit sentimental, but being sentimental is a human trait, and something which we can all hold onto.