UP IN THE AIR
By: Clayton Davis; Joey Magidson
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It's a home run for Reitman's latest, "Up in the Air"....
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DAVIS
Director Jason Reitman, that has brought us great Indie classics such as Thank You for Smoking and Juno has crafted his most
personal and most effective portrait to date, Up in the Air. The film stars George Clooney, also giving his most intimate and beautiful
performance of his career, as Ryan, a traveling “Firing-Man,” who plans on racking up as much frequent flyer miles as he can.
Completely void of human connection and emotion, even from his two sisters, one of which is getting married, Ryan seems
completely content with his choice of living. All seems well until he meets his female version in the beautiful and charismatic Alex,
played with sexual force and intensity by Vera Farmiga. At the same time, a change at his job makes him acquire a student, Natalie,
played with sensitivity and vigor by Anna Kendrick, to learn the ropes of the business before potentially making a devastating change to
Ryan’s way of life.
The film, based on the book of the same title, is a moving and witty piece of cinema. The line deliveries given are some of the best
liners of the year. The adaptation by Reitman and Sheldon Turner is of beautiful and social importance in today’s day and age. There
was no better time than now, to bring a film like this to the table. Dana E. Glauberman’s crisp and precise editing sets the pace as we
travel with Ryan in this beautiful account. Reitman’s direction shows he’s a force to be reckoned with and should be in full blown force
for Oscar consideration along with the adaptation shared with Turner.
George Clooney, who’s having one hell of a year along with his other comedic turn in The Men Who Stare at Goats, gains sympathy
and emotion from the viewer, which up until now, Clooney had always struggled for. The role is right up Clooney’s alley and with
humorous strength, conveys the pain and loneliness of an otherwise charming man successfully.
Vera Farmiga as Alex, is a beautiful as she is dark, and as sexy as she is ugly. Farmiga has finally landed the right role that, in her
years of wrong place at the wrong time, should land her a first-time Oscar nomination. Never showing her hand, Farmiga keeps and
earns your trust, attention, and admiration. It’s one of the most divisive and structurally brilliant supporting turns of the year.
Seemingly not playing with a full deck is Natalie, played most beautifully by Anna Kendrick, who portrays brains don’t equal smart
choices. Kendrick earns your care and concern for the character, as she follows Ryan around and constantly badgers him about
happiness and love, she naïvely and courageously shows the tenderest parts of youth in today’s world. Kendrick will likely be sitting
along side Farmiga at Oscar’s ceremony.
Jason Bateman, playing Craig Gregory, the boss in charge, is amusing in a brief but memorable role. Amy Morton and Melanie
Lynsky, who play Ryan’s sisters, are valuable and sufficient enough to book end a wonderful tale. Danny McBride, an outstanding
comic talent to watch, is as good as ever. And finally, in otherwise cameos, Sam Elliott and the great Zack Galifianakis are uproarious
in their respective roles.
This could very well be the crowd and critical pleaser of the year. It has what the 2004 film Sideways lacked, the emotional edge. Long
after the film, you take these characters home with you and remind yourself of its authenticity in delivery, poise, and premise. Up in the
Air is one of the best pictures of the year.
****/****
MAGIDSON
Right off the bat let me say this: ‘Up in the Air’ is a masterpiece. No other film in 2009 has been able to blend comedy and drama as
well as this film, or weave a better satire, or create stronger characters, or do really anything else that makes a film as perfect as
writer/director Jason Reitman’s third film is. This is a perfect movie that doesn’t take the easy way out once and poses questions
without bothering to spoon feed you the answers. Different people will take different things out of the movie, and that’s likely the point.
The film will challenge your perceptions about human connectivity, the economy, and even unemployment. When the Academy
Awards announce their nominations, expect ‘Up in the Air’ to be one of the names you hear quite a bit.
The film follows Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), an expert in the craft of firing people. He works for a company that is hired by other
companies to send Ryan over and help ease the process of downsizing. He has it down to an art form, as we find out in various
montages (some featuring the testimonials of real life victims of unemployment and corporate downsizing). In addition to being
perhaps the best there is in terms of making this bad news palatable to these people, Bingham also has the “single serving” life down
to an art as well, living 85% of his life on planes, in hotel rooms, and driving rented cars. He lives by a theory that all you hold dear in
your life should be able to fit in a backpack, and that even that stuff is only there to hold you down (as he tells in various speaking
engagements). His only true joy comes from the highly specialized treatment he gets due to his high frequent flyer miles, as well as
both his quest to become only the 7th person to get 10 million miles and his periodic romantic encounters with a likeminded woman
named Alex (Vera Farmiga), who tells Ryan to think of her as “him, but with a vagina”. All this gets put in jeopardy when a new member
of his company named Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) designs a way to fire people over what is essentially iChat, rendering Ryan
grounded and borderline obsolete. He’s assigned by his boss Craig (Jason Bateman) to train Natalie and takes her on the road to
show her the ropes. Along the way they run into Alex, and the three of them begin to bond. All the while, Ryan might be falling for Alex
and starting to question his solitary life, but will it be too late for a tiger to change his stripes, and if he does, is he only setting himself
up for the kind of life he’s preached against for so long?
George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick all deserve Oscar nominations for their pitch perfect work in this film. Clooney
especially is doing fantastic work here, in fact working somewhat off of his public perception as a loner. He’s able to make you
sympathize and even like someone who does the unthinkable for a living and lives his life according to a code that would be
unbearable for just about everyone. He works his charm when necessary, but this is a role that requires more than a wink and a
smile, and Clooney is up to the task, essaying what I believe to be the best performance of his career. Farmiga is also excellent,
showing off a smart, sexy, and confident side to a character that a lesser actress might have not played quite as fully. Alex is as set in
her life as Ryan, and that leads to the best third act of any film this year. It wouldn’t be possible if not for the warmth and strength of
Farmiga’s performance. Rounding out the terrific trio is Kendrick, who gives a breakthrough performance as the tightly wound Natalie.
She has perhaps the biggest character arc of the three main roles, and she absolutely nails it. Kendrick is a name to keep an eye on
in the future, as she’s capable of great things. All three should have nominations coming their way, and any of the three could end up
winners (Clooney has the easier path, since Farmiga and Kendrick could conceivably split the vote). The smaller roles are played well
by (among others) Bateman as a boss who loves a bad economy, J.K. Simmons and Zach Galifinianakis as grieving workers being
terminated, and Danny McBride as Ryan’s future brother-in-law.
What I loved about these characters (a credit to Reitman and his co-writer Sheldon Turner) is that simple descriptions don’t do them
justice. They’re fully fleshed out and feel like real people. The script also gives them each some wonderful zingers, some comedic
high points, and a good dramatic speech (none of which rings false). The script is the best thing I’ve read this year, and it translated to
the page perfectly.
Jason Reitman also deserves his second Oscar nomination for Best Director, as he’s continued to evolve as a filmmaker. He’s not
only perhaps the most exciting young director out there, he’s perhaps just one of the best directors out there, period. He keeps the
movie going at a perfect pace, edits the film flawlessly, and does a terrific job with musical cues (though ineligible, Brad Smith’s “Help
Yourself” is perfectly placed and the best Original Song I’ve heard this year). He’s got a tremendous amount of confidence in his
talent, and it pays off in spades here.
A great choice the film makes is to never judge any of these characters. The movie never tries to manipulate you, and even when it
shows real victims of layoffs, it does so in an evenhanded manner. By letting you think for yourself, the film manages yet another in its
dizzying array of successes. The ending is perfect for the film, though it’s not what you’ll expect going in. Listen carefully and pay
attention to the characters, they all stay true to themselves, much like the film does.
When the film is being funny, it’s often hilarious. When the film is satirizing the practice of workplace termination, it’s a razor-sharp
parody. When the film is serious, it’s almost heartbreaking. When it combines all these elements, it’s a perfect recipe for a perfect
film. I never wanted ‘Up in the Air’ to end, and if there’s any justice, the Academy will agree. This is the best film of the year.
****/****
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