ScreenWize

Jason Reitman, the young director who previously brought us the caustic Thank you for smoking and the critical and commercial darling Juno, proves himself again adept at intelligent comedy with Up in the Air. In it, George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who has perfected the art of distance. A seasoned corporate traveller, he is farmed out by his company to do the hatchet work for bosses who don’t have the stomach to fire their own employees, and is home a mere 43 days a year. Ryan has perfected his air travel routine so it has minimum impact on his schedule and allows him minimal contact with other people, excepting the occasional one night stand. Ryan even lectures to other travelling business folk on his philosophy of travel.

This wouldn’t make for much of a film without there being obstacles for the cynical and confident Ryan to overcome – including the young efficiency expert Natalie (Anna Kendrick) who is sent to tail him in the field to learn the ropes, the gorgeous executive traveller Alex (Vera Farmiga) who matches both Ryan’s clinical detachment and libido, as well as the upcoming wedding of his younger sister Julie (Melanie Lynskey), which forces Ryan to reconnect with his estranged family. Working from Walter Kirn’s novel, Reitman has himself scripted the film – and while it is nowhere near as quotable or indulgently amusing as Diablo Cody’s work for Juno, Up in the Air is wryly amusing.

George Clooney is thoroughly likeable as the amusingly callous Ray – even watching him at the heart-breaking job of terminating folk en-masse is fun, but it is the women that give the film its heart. Vera Farmiga plays devilishly well against Clooney, and every scene with Anna Kendrick is delicious. Kendrick is the young actress who plays Jessica in the Twilight franchise (she filmed this and Twilight: New Moon simultaneously) and her youthful and awkward delivery of generational differences are the film’s brighter moments. The film is beautifully shot by Eric Steelberg – glorious vistas of America’s heartland contrasting with poorly-lit anonymous hotels, offices and airports.

My one trouble with Up in the Air is its blatant product placement, especially for a certain US airline. If this were a radio play, one would expect John Laws to pop up, court-ordered, at the end of the film and snidely remind folk this is a paid advertorial.

CK

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon