Up in the Air

George Clooney and Anna Kendrick as Ryna and Natalie in Up in the Air

I went into the cinema to watch Up in the Air with great optimism. Adapted from the Walter Kirn (GQ literary editor) book of the same title, writer/director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking, Uncle Sam) has a clear and valuable message to convey; that of acknowledgment of the Godforsaken global economic climate we are all trundling through currently and the acceptance of ourselves over forced motivations of money and work-place status.

However, I felt the way this message was delivered to us was bolshie and unconvincing. Juno, with its charming portrayal of teenage pregnancy and coming of age, is one of those films that I could watch repeatedly and tirelessly, and, of course, George Clooney’s on screen presence has had an affect on me since his Doug Ross days. But, and it saddens me to say this, I was somewhat disappointed by Up in the Air. 

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) is a Career Transition Counsellor - or in other words, he is hired to fire. A frequent-flying, no-luggage-to-check-in, life-destroying machine, he travels the country day in, day out and delivers bull-shit spiel to casualties of the recent economic down-turn: the loyal employee. He’s a man with no commitments and only one ambition in life: to be the seventh person to have racked up 10 million miles in the air. His reward? A silver American Airmiles card and a chat with the chief pilot, Maynard Finch (Sam Elliott). All in all, not really the most intriguing character.

Ryan’s free and easy lifestyle is threatened when perky new employee, Natalie (Anna Kendrick), devises a new video-conference style programme that allows CTC’s to extinguish people’s careers without leaving the office. Soul crushing is going digital; company savings are made and contracts are still carried out. With his ten million mile target and a ‘casual’ relationship with saucy business-woman and fellow frequent flyer, Alex (Vera Farmiga), in jeopardy, Ryan and the squeaky Natalie embark on a people-sacking jaunt that takes them from Omaha to Miami – to show her the realities of the job, apparently.

George Clooney holding a cardboard cut out in Up in the Air

Fleeting, not quite seamlessly, in and out of their infuriating business trip together are meet-ups with Alex, incessant quips from Natalie on love, marriage and emotional security followed by resilient, hard-nose retorts from Ryan. This is all in addition to the taking of sickly photos of a cardboard cut-out of Ryan’s sister and husband-to-be at various landmarks around the country, “you know, like the gnome in the French movie” (a nod to a film with more charm in its VHS case than this film has in its full edit). When their trip is called to an end by boss Craig (Jason Bateman) the pair are both downtrodden and reflective whilst the audience is left struggling to keep our eyes open.

As the film reaches its final act things do, thankfully, begin to look up - that is, the pace of the film quickens. With Alex as his date, Ryan attends his somewhat estranged younger sister’s wedding with photos in hand (as requested by his pushy elder sister), new advice to dish out; “everyone needs a co-pilot”, and a wry smile on his face. This is his turning point. The wedding and the realisation of real people with real lives leads Ryan to realising his true heart. Ahhh.

Subject wise, this film absolutely hits the nail on the head, exploring candidly the victims of the recent collapse of the global economy and showcasing ruthlessly the types of people benefiting from such downturn. However, for the film to be enjoyable and hold any form of inspiration, which I think it’s trying desperately to do, it missed the target with its stereotypical characters, predictable twists and dowdy design.

I would like to say this film was entertaining yet uninspiring but I’m going to just opt for the latter. Clooney, now too old in the neck to carry off the smouldering bachelor look, dawdles his way through dialogue that just doesn’t seem to quite fit the bill. The most memorable line comes from Alex, “You’re a parenthesis,” which, sadly, I feel this film to be. Sometimes a book should just be left a book.

Official Up in the Air website

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