Friday, December 4, 2009
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Friday, December 4, 2009
MOVIE REVIEW
Up In The Air
An Auto-Pilot Bachelor, Flying And Firing Away
No fear of flying: George Clooney as
Ryan Bingham and Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran in "Up In The Air", which opened
today in San Francisco, N.Y. and L.A.
and several other U.S. cities. The film expands on Dec. 25.
Paramount Pictures
By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
Friday, December 4, 2009
Jason Reitman scores a knock-out punch with the very impressive "Up In The Air",
the director's tertiary effort after the terrific
"Thank You For Smoking" and
the overrated "Juno". With
"Air", Mr. Reitman has crafted his best film so far, featuring a naturalistic
performance from George Clooney, possibly his finest. Mr. Clooney plays
Ryan Bingham, a corporate fixer the opposite of his
Michael Clayton character.
Where Clayton engages, Bingham disengages, firing people from their jobs with
such a calm and soothing dispassion that you feel you're being massaged as the
knife is being stuck in the backs of employees who've given decades to a
marketing company.
Ryan never seems to touch the ground, whether in his personal or professional
life. Living in Omaha and being on emotional auto-pilot, for this
motivational speaker with little motivation to settle down it's the thrill of
not being tethered to anything in life, except American Airline frequent flyer
miles, which he has amassed millions of, or his Hertz Gold Club Card, which he
proudly displays like a personal talisman. Ryan enjoys an episodic
relationship with Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), a get-up-and-go type who has an
autonomy and drive as wide and as spontaneous as he.
Mr. Reitman directs "Up In The Air" with an economy and detail that is sharp.
He knows how to push us in this dramatic comedy, whether with a precise, robotic
pace or a slower, more intimate evolution of the story (which he wrote; very
loosely based on Walter Kirn's novel.) The director dangles our fears
before us, fears projected through both actors and real-life casualties of the
job market. And it's this crucial ingredient that forms the film's
backdrop -- lack of human connection in an ever-growing technological world --
whether expressed in the brutal recession of the moment or via the solitary,
self-denying way Ryan insists on bachelorhood.
Acting-wise it's not just Mr. Clooney who resonates subtly with the internal
flickers of a confident yet insecure character; there's good work here from Ms.
Farmiga, who shows as much nuance as her lead male counterpart playing Ms.
Goran. Relative newcomer Anna Kendrick makes a mark as Natalie Keener, a
brash young corporate protege at the company who threatens to make Ryan's
philosophies (as well as his job) irrelevant. As Natalie Miss Kendrick is
audacious and vulnerable in a bit of acting that is as un-self-conscious and
unassuming as you'd expect from a disciplined veteran thespian.
Filled with beautiful overhead shots of American cities -- an irony is that the
"flyover" cities we see are almost all major U.S. cities -- "Up In The Air"
floats sublimely, especially in its second half, as the story slows down and
breathes. Danny McBride makes a welcome appearance in a dramatic role, a
contrast to the mostly-comedic work he does.
For Mr. Clooney it's been a sensational year on the big screen, all in under a
month. On November 6 he was first seen in a major role in "The Men Who
Stare At Goats". On November 13 he could be heard voicing the lead
character in Wes Anderson's "The Fantastic Mr.
Fox", and beginning today audiences can see him in what will likely be an
Oscar-nominated performance.
"Up In The Air", a bitter-sweet experience that can be described as the first
air-trip movie ever made, is also one of the year's best films.
With: Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Nathan Dean, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey,
Tamara Jones, Zach Galafianakis, Chris Lowell and Adrienne Lamping.
"Up In The Air" is rated R by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for language and some sexual content. The film's running time is
one hour and 49 minutes.
Related: Interview with "Up In The Air" director Jason Reitman
Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
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