Drew's

Date Reviewed	12/18/2009
Title	Up in the Air
Rating
Directed By :	Jason Reitman
Starring :	George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Amy Morton and Danny McBride
Review	George Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham. He’s a corporate terminator that flies around the country firing employee from other companies. A professional service uses his unparallel skills for meetings that result in job loss and fear of the unknown. His long term life goal is to accumulate a specific figure of air miles to join a prestige club. Since he’s on the road most of the time by choice, going home is a lonelier punishment. He’d rather remain “Up in the Air.” In Jason Reitman’s third full length feature as director, he utilizes the best in actor George Clooney while examining a desolate life among busy journeys. A lack of long term intimate connections cocoon this person from meaningful relationships. In spite of missing a life co-pilot, he’s functional, productive and successful. Even though he separates himself from the pain his message causes, his delicate touch softens the blow for most rational, logical and reasonable victims. Anna Kendrick co-stars as a robotic young kid out of college using spreadsheet data and her psychology degree in order to overhaul his company while attempting to preserve dollars. Her dialogue reminds me of “The Gilmore Girls” since her rapid fire delivery is automatic, tart and fluid. Her role as Natalie Keener is a wakeup call for inexperienced overconfident know it alls that are wet behind the ears. She has some of Tilda Swinton’s character in her from “Michael Clayton.” Clooney has battled this kind previously. Vera Farmiga is my wakeup call to pay more attention to her on screen. She is an excellent match as an independent business traveler named Alex Goran. They appear as a perfect pair for each other. She seems like a female version of Bingham. When these two are communicating, I’m all ears. These two are adults keeping their contact as strictly business. Non-verbal boundaries are established based on their career paths and playful conduct. J.K. Simmons and Jason Bateman have impact supporting roles as veterans of Reitman’s prior films. Bingham has a terrific method of executing his business through timing, choice of words and approach. “Cruel to be Kind” should be a song on the soundtrack. There is a greater sense of maturity in this picture. This is as adult as it gets. Using a variety of unknowns as laid off test subjects lends the film a serious density to the material. There’s a scene of an unexpected third party that’s almost identical to a scene in “An Education” currently in theaters. Both scenes feel like getting smacked with an imaginary back hand. “Up in the Air” is a movie that has it all including great performances, a terrific script, unpredictable surprises with a realistic conclusion. Drew's Reviews, copyright 2009, Drewsmoviereviews.com, property of Drew Bean.