Review: Up In The Air
Clooney wants an Oscar. Sure he won best supporting actor for Syriana, but Syriana was a bit rubbish to be honest and it’s understandable that an actor of his stature is chasing the big one to top off his career. Oscar vehicles often feel a lot like Broccoli however, sure you can see the value but they’re pretty hard to get through (I’m looking at you The Aviator). The opposite I am glad to report, is true of Up In The Air, sharp writing and acting make this move a joy to watch form start to finish, the time flew by (yea… planes).
Reckon fitting all that stuff in that suitcase will be tough? Try thinking of a caption for this picture. I mean, really what is there to say, "Two good actors"?
I was a big fan of Jason Reitman’s directorial role in Juno but, having never seen Thank You For Smoking, he remained unproven to me as a writer. Up In The Air shows that he’s just as good behind the pen as he is behind the camera with consistently sharp dialogue and decent pacing. The story itself revolves around Ryan Bingham (Clooney), a corporate down-sizer (he fires people for a living) who seem to have his life just how he wants it, no emotional ties and plenty of corporate perks. His goal is to reach 10 million air-miles, a feat that he informs us, fewer people have walked on the moon that completed. Bingham is a great character who, in the hands of Clooney, is exactly as efficient and cool as he should be, he fits the role like a glove. Clooney’s love interest Alex (Farmiga) and apprentice Natalie (Kendrick) also put in phenomenal performances, the chemistry between the three really is the main draw of the film. Their cool but shallow corporate world is also portrayed believably in Reitman’s writing and direction, the artificial colour palette and the humming of the planes both great examples of the small but important touches that he never seems to miss. Oh and the excellent soundtrack in Juno; turns out that wasn’t a coincidence either.
It’s not all great however, just most of it. Towards the latter half, rather than letting Bingham drown in contradictions and corporate cruelty, the film takes a sickly sweet rom-com turn. I would have preferred Reitman to explore the dark lonely place that Bingham was heading, but as a fairly upbeat commercial comedy, I can see why this didn’t happen. Speaking of comedy, another minor complaint is that while I smiled all the way through the film, it was rarely laugh out loud funny. The film has really nice pacing, mixing drama and comedy with ease so I can understand that it was too busy trying (and succeeding) to be clever to make me giggle but it’s still a bit of a shame.
Even with these complaints however, Up In The Air is a relentlessly entertaining comedy that is paced to perfection. There is some harsh competition out this year, but I reckon Clooney might be in with a chance.
Rating: 
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