Up In The Air

It was with some excitement that I went to see 'Up In The Air' today. The reviews for this had been overwhelmingly positive and gushing in parts. The first thing to say is that this is a solid movie, well written with some clever and at times funny dialogue. The overall feel of the movie is that of a simple tale, a tale of the here and now. George Clooney in a dream casting plays the role of Ryan Bingham, a high flying frequent flyer whose job it is to inform a plethora of American employees that they have lost their job. The bosses of the companies who have employed his services clearly haven't the stomach for the task but Clooney approaches it with a calculating precision whilst still managing to convey a warmth and sincerity. He favours the personal touch, a personal touch that comes under threat with the arrival of Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) to the firm. She has built a system that will perform the firing by means of a video link up and all but ground Bingham's air miles. Flying all over the States and clocking up air miles he lives the live of a nomad, yet it's a life which is very agreeable to him. A sparse one bedroom apartment in Omaha and a sister he barely knows serve as evidence of his nomadic existence. The wide eyed Keener goes on the road with Bingham to try and soak up what it is he does whilst all the time trying to impart some life lessons on him. The Director Jason Reitman is clearly trying to speak to the audience about the values of relationships. The other main female casting is Vera Farmiga playing the role of Alex Goran, another frequent flying executive, who after a chance meeting with Clooney builds up a relationship of convenience. This is a relationship which slowly blossoms as the film develops but which concludes with a lesson on relationships and how they may appear.
Star turns from Clooney & Kendrick. The script is simple, at times funny and very relevant in a time of economic upheaval. It's another solid effort from Reitman on the back of Juno without ever being special.