1/14/2024 0 Comments Up in the air![]() Their romance works-not as the tortured impossibility he shared with Violante Placido in the excellent “The American”-but as a different kind of impossibility. Clooney and Farmiga have wonderful chemistry together. The cast works well together, although the strongest are Clooney, Kendrick, Farmiga, and Morton. “Up in the Air” is not perfect, but it’s nonetheless great.” Watching “Up in the Air,” I was left with the impression its cold plot was not to be taken literally, but offered as a catalyst for a change that Ryan-should he be on the other side of the firing table-could one day find for himself. ![]() But in the mark of a good filmmaker, that relief is never at the expense of fired employees, but at the ludicrousness of the whole ordeal. Reitman’s film alleviates the stress with comic relief. We believe that he believes the lines he feeds fired employees, even if we know they don’t. But the more we follow him, the less we’re sure. ![]() One could imagine a comedy, where Bingham loves the single, cynical life, and gets a kick out of firing people. What works about “Up in the Air” is it takes an impersonal job and makes it about more than that. George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air.” (Photo: Paramount Pictures). Reitman Directs Clooney, Kendrick, and Farmiga to Perfection One gets the impression that when he meets Alex ( Vera Farmiga)-and the two start the type of fleeting romance that only hotels and airline miles can offer-that even this isn’t something that happens to Bingham all that often. He’s also not a typical “bachelor”-type, though he doesn’t believe in marriage, kids, or any of that. He’s long ago wedged a gap between he and his sisters Karen ( Amy Morton) and Julie ( Melanie Lynskey)-the latter who is about to be married. Bingham isn’t a snob, but a realist who loves a life he can predict. Ironically, though, he doesn’t demand them. Bingham idolizes material things: room accommodations, skipping airport lines with VIP status, and gold cards for airlines and rental agencies. I can imagine his assuredness of the single life, devoid of attachments, resonating with many travelers and jet-setters. He’s tasked with taking Natalie on the road one last time to learn the art of his job, which sets up the remainder of the film.Ĭlooney is in rare form here. The threat of working from CTC’s home office remotely-instead of traveling (Bingham has stated he’s traveled roughly 320 days last year)-is devastating to man with no home roots. That Natalie becomes a vital part of this cold movie’s turnaround is only one of its many surprises. She wants to save the company money (and time) by having their team fire people remotely via video chats. It seems worse when CTC brings on a new, ambitious recruit, Natalie ( Anna Kendrick). There’s not a lot of empathy floating around. His boss ( Jason Bateman in a rare, heartless role) will remark that business is good for their company, (the fictional CTC), because the economy is doing so bad. Bingham jets from city to city, firing people, and commenting-often with interior monologues-on the job itself. ![]() The first half, in fact, is mostly comedy. And the film is indeed a comedy/drama, but leaning more towards drama. “Up in the Air” is the story of a man who spends his life creating his perfect, isolate life, and only in the closing credits questions if this decision in fact nurtures his soul.Ī brief read of the synopsis of “Up in the Air”-the novel of the same name by Walter Kirn this movie is based on-seems to indicate the film, directed by Jason Reitman, departs significantly from the novel. But luckily for Bingham, loneliness and impersonality are what he craves. It can get ugly, depressing, and impersonal. Bingham’s a man-as Clooney narrates in the opening-that fires people for companies whose bosses don’t have the nerve. I recently watched the movie on Netflix, propelled to do so after seeing a clip from the movie posted on Facebook reels of the film’s protagonist, Ryan Bingham, walking a character ( J.K. The 2009 comedy/drama “Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney, somehow slipped under my radar.
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