Up in the Air, Early Review

I had the pleasure tonight of attending an early screening of Up in the Air, the new film from Jason Reitman, director of Juno and Thank you for Smoking, and starring George Clooney.

The film follows the life of Ryan, an agent who excels at two things: talking to people and traveling. He lives a life of solitude and personal enjoyment as he does his job, firing people on behalf of corporations and essentially running damage control. On the side, he is a motivational speaker and book writer, encouraging people to find freedom by leaving behind their homes, their possessions, even their personal relationship that keep them tied down to one area.

Ryan's life is turned upside down by a series of concurrent events, a new romance, a marriage in his family, but mostly by a most ironic threat to his own job from within his company. In the midst of the economic recession, his company should be thriving, but they are seeking to find ways to cut costs, such as the cost of travel. A young recruit to the company has proposed that all terminations be done online from the central office via video servers. If this plan is implemented, Ryan is grounded. He and the new recruit travel together testing his very personal method of termination against the cold efficiency of computer termination.

At the same time, Ryan's ideas of relationships and a lifetime of constant motion are challenged by the more traditional values of the young recruit, his new found doubts presenting more of a threat to his jet-set lifestyle, even, than the encroaching technology.

If you've seen Juno and Thank You for Smoking, you kind of know what to expect. No, this doesn't have the more slapstick or peppy dialog driven laughs of Juno, but it still has the mix of drama and humor. Up in the Air is much closer to Thank You, in its tone, its examination of the corporate world, and the way in which it challenges the views of its main character. This time, the film focuses more on love and adventure and how the two seem mutually exclusive; it questions whether settling is the end of life, as Ryan suspects, or its true beginning.

The humor here is dry, but spot on. There are a lot of great gags, many of them dialog or situationally based, but you get a few well-timed masturbation jokes in there as well, just for spice.

Of course, Reitman is no slouch when it comes to drama, either, and Up in the Air shows packs a very real emotional punch. There is a real sense of loneliness about all the characters, a longing that comes across in every moment from the screen.

Up in the Air's real strength is in its cast. None of the humor, nor the drama, would work if it weren't so convincingly delivered by the quartet that make the main cast. George Clooney continues to show why he's Hollywood's most trusted and prolific leading man. His character is intelligent, charming, and charismatic in a way only Clooney could pull off. His delivery is typical of most of his characters, but it works for his character, always believable . Even as he continues to age, Clooney's characters continue to be smart and dignified, unlike those of, say, John Travolta or so many other older leading men who have sold out to family fare with no gravitas.

Jason Bateman plays a role more serious than usual, his role as Clooney's young hot-shot boss giving him little chance to crack jokes. However, he plays the yuppy well.

Nothing would have worked were it not for the strength of the leading ladies, neither of whom was I very familiar with before Up in the Air. Young Anna Kendrick plays Natalie, the girl who would threaten Clooney. Before this, I only knew her from the unfortunate Twilight series, so its fantastic to see her get to test her acting chops. Well, I say its fantastic only because she delivers so well. She remains cute and funny through most scenes, but collapses under pressure in a very real-to-life manner.

The real gem is the smaller but important role of Alex, played by Vera Farmiga. Vera has not gotten a lot of recognition for her roles, but she's been in a lot of great movies in the past, The Departed, Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and others. If this doesn't garner her some notoriety... well, it'll be typical, but a shame. Her verisimilitude is second to none, even as a spectator in Clooney's scenes, Vera never falters, never breaks. At 35, Vera also brings a sex appeal to her role as leading lady that is rare in a lot of films now. It seems Hollywood only accepts sexy leading ladies ages 18-25 anymore, but Vera is a bold exception. Her one nude scene literally made the male portion of my audience gasp with delight. You could practically hear the girlfriends punching them in unison a second later.

So, generally you know what to expect, dry wit, good drama, fantastic performances (thumbs up, also, to JK Simmons who continues to deliver fantastic supporting characters). If you like intelligent humor (think West Wing) you'll really get into this.

My one personal problem with Up in the Air is this: despite being very good at telling us its moral message, this is a message we've heard over and over again. In other words, you must submit to normal goals about relationships and family in order to be happy.

Clooney's character begins as a perfectly happy, if a little self-centered, traveler. Inevitably, his notions about this are challenged, and he must confront his loneliness and lack of solidarity, the usual. The problem with this being that at the beginning of the film, Clooney is happy. When he questions this happiness, he becomes distraught. But, it seems that Clooney isn't really lonely, so much as he is told he is lonely and acts accordingly. But, by the end of it, and though it goes against the messages of the film, I felt that had Clooney just stayed in isolation, he would have been happier.

There are those of us out there who prefer isolation, and don't mind having the ability to move through life unfettered. Its not a perfect lifestyle, but neither is marriage and kids. Its not for everyone, but it is for some people. This seemed to be conveyed by Up in the Air early on, but by the end of the film, it began to preach that if you didn't give up your personal freedom for the company of others, life can never be complete for you, a point I can't entirely agree with.

In fact, it seems to contradict an earlier scene, where Clooney fires a man, and finds that he had once dreamed of being a chef. Why did he stop pursuing his dream? Because he had kids and wanted a stable paycheck. But now, says Clooney, you should pursue your dream, because your kids can't admire a man who doesn't pursue his dreams. Doesn't that seem to encourage a life without personal bonds? A life in the pursuit of personal ambition? Enough talk is made of working 9 to 5 in crap jobs and being unhappy until you die, that it seems the attainment of goals is also a big part of the movie's message.

Regardless, its a fun feature that is well crafted, and obviously thought provoking. If you like smart comedy, check it out.