I have a confession to make: I can't stand George Clooney. I know he is regarded as one of America's favorite actors and one of the few true movie stars, but I have just always found him smarmy, self-involved, and full of himself, so he has always turned me off. For that reason, I walked into his latest film, Up in the Air, with some trepidation. I was hopeful that due to the great reviews the film would be good or at least tolerable but with Clooney as the lead, I was not that optimistic. I am surprised to say that I loved this film. Up in the Air is a great film with a winning performance by George Clooney and a story that is very relevant for these crazy times.
In the film, Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer who companies hire to fire their employees because they don't want to do it themselves. Ryan loves his job and doesn't feel the least bit bad about the work he does or the fact that he lives on the road constantly. In fact, he lives for the time he spends in airports and on airplanes. He is just about to crack the ten million frequent flyer miles mark and that represents the high point of his life. He is alone, but not lonely. He represents so many in America today, the ones who go through life alone, and claim that they don't need anybody to be happy. In that sense alone, the film is a perfect portrait of our times. Ryan then has his whole world turned upside down by a series of events: first, he meets the beautiful Alex (played by Vera Farmiga), a fellow traveler like him. They have a real connection, which is something that Ryan has never experienced before. Then, his company grounds him when the young and ambitious Natalie (played by Anna Kendrick) develops a program that will allow them to fire people through the computer, thereby saving the company millions in airfare and lodging. Ryan doesn't agree with this method and so takes the young Natalie under his wing to show her that firing people in person is better and more personal than firing them through a computer screen.
In this way, the film is a commentary on modern-day society and our complete disconnect with each other. People use technology to communicate whether it is Facebook, text messaging, or what have you, rather than taking a moment for the personal connection. When was the last time you actually had a face-to-face conversation with someone you had not talked to in a while? Now, when was the last time you communicated via Facebook or text messaged somebody you hadn't seen in a while? You see what I mean. Firing somebody is something that nobody wants to do, but it has to be done. Therefore, when it is done, it really needs to be done in person, as it is a very personal and private matter. Over the course of the film, Natalie realizes this point and Ryan realizes that he really doesn't want to be alone anymore. He realizes that maybe there really is something to the concept of being grounded and having some sense of stability. He changes over the course of the film and that made me happy.
George Clooney delivers a great performance here and indeed I think it is the best one he has ever given. He is the only actor who could really play this character as the qualities that I don't like about him work for this particular character. Ryan, especially at the beginning, needs to be smarmy and cocky. It's what makes his character work. Yet, by the end of the film, Clooney is given room to grow and change and he does it well. With the help of a stellar supporting cast (Farmiga is luminous and Anna Kendrick holds her own), director Jason Reitman has crafted a superb film. It's only his third film but it stands as his best. He previously directed Thank You for Smoking, which was vastly underrated and was a brilliant film. Then, he made Juno, which got widespread acclaim, but I personally found vastly overrated. With Up in the Air, however, he has crafted a moving and relevant film about one man's journey to stay afloat despite the chaos around him. Reitman has done what I long thought wasn't possible: he has made me love a George Clooney film. That alone is a miracle. This is one of the year's best films.
Grade: A
