I admittedly am a George Clooney basher. Not that I spend much time or effort in doing so, but every time I review something he has a hand in making, I am always wondering what the uproar is about this guy. He makes mediocre films at best and can’t take a lead role in anything really worth watching. That was until “Up in the Air”. This was a damn good movie. Let me get that out of the way right up front. George Clooney was fabulous in this picture. Ryan, his character, was made for George Clooney to beautifully portray.
The film focuses on Ryan, whose primary job is firing people. There appears to be too many people in management lacking the balls to extinguish their employees, so they hire Ryan and his company to fly in and do the job for them. I happen to agree with the management lacking balls statement personally as well, but what do I know. So Ryan flies in, cuts the driftwood and flies home……. Well that is the interesting part. He doesn’t actually fly home, since he is on the road almost every day of every week of every month of every year. He has no real home to fly to.
As with all misguided corporate flailing, Ryan’s company hires a fledgling out of college who thinks that she can cut costs by firing people remotely, via web conference. I love this. How cathartic is corporate America becoming. So Natalie brilliantly played by Anna Kendrick, sets out to learn the ropes from Ryan all the while setting up her cost saving death by video scenario. In addition to tutoring young Natalie in the ways of death dealing, Ryan has found his love interest in the form of Alex, played by Vera Farmiga. Possibly the one woman in the world as superficial as he is.
As with all lonely lost souls the second Ryan opens his heart it is crushed underfoot. He might have found his only true calling, is a lonely existence, helping pathetic corporate America cut loose its dead weight. It is a sad story showing how lonely we are as individuals even while we are engulfed by superficial relationships everywhere we turn. How many people truly know us? How many people care about who we are as individuals? Where is the one or two true friends who help make our lives worth living?
If you only see a handful of movies each year, you really need to make “Up in the Air” one of them. Hats off to Mr. Clooney for finally making a fantastic movie that gets you thinking, gives you hope, and crushes your sensitivity all at the same time.
