Up in the Air is an interesting film, as it is a serious comedy of two interlocking parts. The first is a wry and sometimes painful look into corporate America (and the phenomenon of buying in a company to effectively "fire" your own staff), whilst the second is an affecting study of first love in middle age. Juno (2007) director Jason Reitman wisely chose George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, the man that jumps from city to city to do the firing. Clooney quite effortlessly becomes the suave and likable, but ultimately emotionally bankrupt employment grim reaper and like his Nemesis Cary Grant, he is at his best whilst indulging in the sexy and ever-so-funny banter with Eva Marie Saint look-a-like,Vera Farmiga, who plays his female businesswoman mirror counterpart.
The two are quite lovely to watch together. and their chemistry is much more impressive than Clooney's wonderful turn with Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight.......Both Farmiga and Clooney are twin sharks in the corporate world with Farmiga purring "Think of me as yourself with a vagina," however the amusement of their laptop/mobile phone sexual relationship turns slightly sour when Clooney's character actually falls in love with her.
Clooney has never been better as the isolated Bingham, with Farmiga and the prickly Anna Kendrick as the new whizkid on the block being standouts in an excellent cast.
Praise must also go to the score of actors that play the employees on the receiving end of redundancy....their brief yet vital snapshots of shock and despair, are convincing and incredibly moving.Ultimately , the film has lots to say about how people view themselves; some people are defined by their job and status, others by the relationships they engage in, and some, hopefully like the majority of us, define themselves with a bit of both
I loved Up In The Air
8.5 out of 10
I've been reading good reviews on that movie, and Clooney isn't hard to look at anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this comprehensive review.
ReplyDeleteMost of the actors playing the employees were employees who had lost their jobs. They had gone through the process and their rections and stories were their own.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pleasure to experience such an adult script, such good acting and a film with no Hollywood compromises. That bleak ending was simply perfect.
I thought the ending was ever so slightly hopefull!
ReplyDeleteNot for the hero it wasn't, he'd got everything he wanted but all he now had was emptiness. The destination board was now meaningless to him - just look at those subtly drooping shoulders.
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