Up in the Air
by Jason Reitman
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Actor: Amy Morton, Anna Kendrick, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, Vera FarmigaDirector: Jason Reitman
Brand: PAR
Writer: Jason Reitman
Producer: Ali Bell
Producer: Daniel Dubiecki
Producer: Helen Estabrook
Producer: Ivan Reitman
Writer: Sheldon Turner
Writer: Walter Kirn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
Published: 2010-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2010-03-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC
DVD Reviews of Up in the Air
DVD Review: 4.5 stars. Witty script and George Clooney at the top of his game
Summary: 5 Stars
George Clooney is NOT a great actor. Seriously, can you picture him pulling of Shakespeare or something like the character Daniel Plainview in THERE WILL BE BLOOD? That's not in him...and based on the roles he selects, is not of interest to him either. However, George Clooney IS a movie star...and I mean that in the best way. Like Cary Grant before him, he simply oozes charm, easy, charisma and a self-deprecating sense of humor. But what makes him so particularly invaluable is that much of the time, his "star power" makes his on-screen interactions with everyone contain loads of chemistry. Think about how he and Jennifer Lopez sizzled in OUT OF SIGHT (has she every had similar charisma with any of her co-stars since?). Or how he was able to make Tilda Swinton seems vaguely passionate in BURN AFTER READING (or how their very different chemistry elevated her to Oscar status in MICHAEL CLAYTON). He commands the screen, yet has enough generosity in his performance to elevate others. An "actor" like Daniel Day Lewis or Meryl Streep elevates others because they know they need to bring their A-games just to keep up. Clooney makes actors seem more normal and down-to-earth, and by the same token, charming and vivacious.
It's this quality that makes UP IN THE AIR so successful. Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a gun-for-hire whose job is to fly around the country to different companies and fire people. People he doesn't know and will never see again. He does it for bosses who are to afraid to do it themselves. He does it with an offhand charm that shields him totally from the deep emotions of the folks he's letting go. He disarms and defuses their anger. He's a master at what he does, and his world-traveling ways apparently perfectly suit his desire to have few real connections with people. He is a nice guy who is nonetheless totally self-centered...which is what makes him perfect at his work. He lacks real empathy for others, but to him, it's not weakness but a desirable trait he actively cultivates. He's trying to become only the 7th traveler to rack up 10 million miles. He has all the "executive" level loyalty programs from hotels, car rental agencies, etc. He never has to stand in line to check in for anything. His home base is in Omaha, but he's only there 42 days out of the year (and his apartment is the dreariest living space he has...it is very utilitarian).
One day, his comfortable world is rocked a bit, because his firm has hired a go-getter grad student (Anna Kendrick), who has this great idea about firing people via teleconference. It's more efficient. Clooney, of course, is appalled...not just because such an endeavor is incredibly impersonal, but because it threatens HIS way of life. He takes Kendrick on the road with him to show her the ins-and-outs of firing...hoping, of course, to make her see the error of her ways. She's a young, very tightly wound young lady...super smart and witty, but also insecure.
Their travels are punctuated by occasional Clooney's occasional liaisons with a fellow world traveler (Vera Farmiga), an age appropriate "hook up" for Clooney that becomes more and more serious.
The movie is exploring two themes. It has the tone of a satirical romantic comedy (will Clooney shed his cocooned ways to embrace a relationship with this woman who is so clearly well-matched for him?). It also explores the current condition of our economy. We see lots of people being fired, including REAL people who've been let go. They are integrated into scenes with Clooney, expressing their recollections of their reactions to their own layoffs. It's an effective device in some ways, but it also makes the "acted" sequences, with folks like the marvelous JK Simmons and Zach Galifinakis seem a bit hollow. Their scenes are scripted and played somewhat for laughs...and seem petty in comparison to the real pain we see. Ultimately, for me, this commentary, critique or satire of the current economy (not sure exactly WHICH director Jason Reitman was aiming for) falls short. There are moments of genuine anguish, which I appreciate...but the statement seems to be: times are tough and it is scary to be fired. Not exactly sure if this is revelatory!
On the other hand, I enjoyed every moment of the "journey" Clooney, Farmiga & Kendricks take. While there are many moments that on the surface sound as though they'd be very conventional, predictable rom-com clichés...nothing in the film feels forced or wrong. The three actors have chemistry and charm to burn and they all sizzle on screen. We just really like spending time in their company. Farmiga gives her best performance, because she has never seemed to be more easy-going or sexy. Her character grows from convincingly charmed by Clooney (their first meeting could have been a coy, overly-clever patch of unbelievable dialogue, but is instead executed with convincing panache...they instantly achieve the chemistry that Clive Owen and Julia Roberts only dreamed of in DUPLICITY) to a mature fondness and affection. Clooney's charm has made it easy for Farmiga to just relax and be "herself." The interactions between Clooney and Kendricks are hilarious and charming as well. She is able to disarm him in small ways, and he is able to crack her exterior some. While Clooney dislikes her idea intensely, he never really takes it out on her personally. Kendricks, even when her character is at her most uptight, is grounded and down to earth and doesn't try to hard. The two actors, one a veteran and the other quite new to the screen, interact like they've worked together for years, and again, I must attribute much of that to Clooney. He is a master of disarming and charming.
UP IN THE AIR has received lots of Oscar buzz, and I predict many nominations. The acting is stellar and the script, even with the aforementioned problems, is intelligent, witty and unpredictable even when events are predictable. I'm a little less effusive about director Reitman...however, I give him credit for making films with super smart and charming actors and letting them tear into scripts that give adult audiences something to revel in (THANK YOU FOR SMOKING is a brilliant satire and JUNO was simply a high-energy showcase for some truly fine actors). However, while Reitman excels in writing and in spot-on casting...his visual sense is a bit lacking. Each location in UP IN THE AIR, whether Omaha, Wisconsin, Las Vegas or Florida feels exactly the same. The entire movie feels like its taking place in winter...but a winter that has the same lighting in South Florida as in North Wisconsin. It becomes a bit oppressive, and if it's meant to show that Clooney's life is just one long string of generic, dreary locales...there was no reason for that. It is competently edited, but nothing special. Minor quibbles.
So in the end, while I'm not as in love with UP IN THE AIR as, say, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly who named it best of the year...it is a highly entertaining, well-written movie that almost perfectly spotlights all the strengths of George Clooney, the movie star. Absolutely a movie worth seeing.
Description of Up in the Air
Ryan Bingham (Academy AwardŽ winner* George Clooney) is truly living the high life. Flying all over the world on business, he never stops moving...until he meets Alex, a fellow passenger and learns that life isn?t about the journey, but the connections we make along the way. Acclaimed by critics and audiences everywhere and included in over 200 top 10 lists, "Up in the Air is light and dark, hilarious and tragic, bouncy and brainy, romantic and real.?*- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment WeeklyUp in the Air transforms some painful subjects into smart, sly comedy--with just enough of the pain underneath to give it some weight. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) spends most of his days traveling around the country and firing people; he's hired by bosses who don't have the nerve to do their layoffs themselves. His life of constant flight suits him--he wants no attachments. But two things suddenly threaten his vacuum-sealed world: his company decides to do layoffs via video conference so they don't have to pay for travel, and Bingham meets a woman named Alex (Vera Farmiga, The Departed), who seems to be the female version of him? and of course, he starts to fall in love. Writer-director Jason Reitman is building a career from funny but thoughtful movies about compromised people--a pregnant teen in Juno, a cigarette-company executive in Thank You for Smoking. George Clooney has a gift for playing smart men who aren't quite as smart as they think they are (Michael Clayton, Out of Sight). The combination is perfect: Bingham is charming and sympathetic but clearly missing something, and Up in the Air captures that absence with clarity and compassion. The outstanding supporting cast includes Anna Kendrick (Rocket Science), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Danny McBride (Pineapple Express), Melanie Lynskey (Away We Go), and others, each small part pitched exactly right. --Bret Fetzer
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