Sometimes people know their weaknesses – sometimes people will even admit to them – sometimes people will even embrace them. Most of the time – those weaknesses are hidden behind something – and uprooting them in a film can be interesting – and make for both interesting drama but interesting comedy.
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham – a man who works for a company that’s main purpose is to fire employee’s for other companies that have bosses that are too weak natured to fire their own employee’s. Bingham is great at his job – and it gives him an excuse to travel – A LOT – and rack up a ton of frequent flier miles. When Natalie (played by Anna Kendrick) a girl half his age, comes in with grand plans to take Ryan out of the air – and in an office firing people over a teleconference – his lifestyle is threatened.
Bingham is an anti-hero – from a Lost Generation of kids who grew up with no discernable values. He doesn’t value human relationships like everyone else – that’s what makes him great at his job. He can give motivational speeches to crowds of strangers – because he actually believes that people who load up their “backpacks” with the stuff he doesn’t value – are somehow weaker for valuing those things.
It’s not really explained in the movie – exactly why he’s like this – why the only thing he values is the frequent flier miles – and not the human interaction and bonds that everyone else values – but that’s not the point of the film. It can be from any number of issues or excuse - the point is Clooney plays the character in a believable fashion that you don’t need excuses. If Clooney doesn’t put his weight behind the performance it wouldn’t matter if it was explained or not. There’s no condescending Hollywood monologue that will be shown as Clooney’s Oscar nomination clip - which is much appreciated.
I would also like to note – that George Clooney isn’t showing you new sides of himself in this role – this is a tailor made Clooney role. He plays confident and unaffected well – and the casting of him in this role was a wise choice – and I feel it’s a great performance – but not much new for George Clooney.
The story is about watching him cope – not explaining why he is. He tries to push his values back on to Natalie – in his way of nullifying the threat and maintaining his status quo. Once he feels that he’s not going to win – he starts grasping for human relationships to fill those gaps in his life whether it’s reconnecting with his family or reaching out to his new love interest Alex (played by the lovely Vera Farmiga – who absolutely shines in this role) – with results that are best left to viewing the film.
The theme of the film is about the various gaps people have in their lives. Bingham in his job creates holes in people’s lives – but hands out literature and gives an uplifting speech to fill in that hole. Every character seems to have a hole in their life – whether it’s as obvious as a spouse that just left them – or in the case of Bingham’s boss (played by Jason Bateman) a soul. Some people want to embrace the missing pieces of their lives – and some would rather grasp onto something to fill those holes – some don’t realize what they are missing until it’s pointed out to them. It’s a very interesting concept – and should speak to the viewer and have them give it a thought.
Natalie comes off as a person without any gaps in her life – therefore somewhat of a personal threat to Bingham – but he plays it cool and of course her façade falls apart. This is where the other main theme of dreams versus reality really comes into focus. She describes how she thought her life would play out and those dreams haven’t been realized – Bingham and Alex are more than happy to explain how life is really like – as callous as it may seem to a young dreamer. It’s a universally spoken theme – of the grandeur and hope of youth and the disappointments of age – and how people are still looking for the fountain of youth - I wish I knew what I knew now when I was younger.
The performances were strong – with possibly the exception of Anna Kendrick’s mini-awkward-breakdown was the low-point in the film – even though it provided a laugh. The script was strong, funny and bittersweet. The direction by Jason Reitman was spot on – he’s turning into one fine director. He’s got a great sense of composition and pacing - and an ability to keep it light – though this film could easily be a trudge through a depressing matter.
It’s tough to watch a film with your main character going around firing people without acknowledging the current economic climate – and how people are losing jobs every day – helping make Up in the Air a film that finely represents the current malaise of our time. It works as a statement film – with the cinema verite kind of interviews that have people expressing what it’s like to lose a job – and what they’ve done to cope with it and bridge that gap that was created in their lives. It’s uplifting – in that bittersweet way.
Not all hope is lost.
This is a great film on many levels - and even though I don't particularly think this has been a really strong year for Hollywood - this gem of a film is clearly in my mind the best of 2009.
