Up in the Air Reviews and Ratings


  • scooterboyk
    December 29, 2009
    scooterboyk
    Another unique experience offered by Reitman. The central plot point that involved me the most was Ryan's lifestyle in complete contradiction to his exterior life (ie family with whom he no longer has a relationship with) and with the outcomes of his work (victims reconciling wit...( read more)h the loss of family and finding help in family). The film has so many angles to look at and has so many points to make it makes it a joy to make sensed of the irony and metaphor. Not overly funny or serious. Just plain and real.
  • theacademy
    December 29, 2009
    theacademy
    honestly, I really wanted to like this. Like the cast, the premise, like characters who went to Cornell, like the stereotyping line from the trailer... really missed on everything. also wasted danny mcbride. so bad. so so bad... this movie is for people like justin...dumb peo...( read more)ple who don't get that when a movie makes a point, it should probably mean something.
  • Katelyn420
    December 29, 2009
    Katelyn420
    This is the kind of movie I wanna make! lol
  • cbjfatkitty08
    December 29, 2009
    cbjfatkitty08
    well don't go see this alone
  • brauliodiaz93
    December 29, 2009
    brauliodiaz93
    this movie was pretty good i cant believe i thought it would be crappy...but it was an interesting story and the way it ended was unpredictable...im glad this movie didnt end in a happy ending cause all the movies have tied down to end like that and it gets pretty repetitive and ...( read more)lame so good job
  • Zibbs
    December 29, 2009
    Zibbs
    "The kind of feel-good film about bad news that has been winning Oscars for decades." - Karina Longworth (SpoutBlog)



    "What's the point?..."



    After reading several reviews that decorate this movie with phrases like "Best Movie of the Year," "Too Smart for Mainstream Audiences...( read more)," "Clooney's Performance Steals the Show," etc. I decided to write something simplistic, something that gets to the heart of this films context.

    In order to exude my opinion, I should probably describe my experience sitting through this film. I saw it on Christmas Day with a couple friends of mine (all of us opting NOT to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie), having only been influenced by one trailer I saw of it a while back. - Based on this trailer, I got what I expected from the film (hence, the 2 1/2 star rating): a man-child not tied down with responsibilities. - However, I must say that this is not a film I will rewatch any time soon (which contradicts my Flixster rating system). There are moments in the film when I can understand why so many people praise this picture, but the moments pass. - This picture is not the best film of 2009, and I have very little respect for people who say this film is otherwise with such ease and certainty. - This movie is not fun to sit through. During certain scenes, I found myself thinking of Fight Club and comparing the cynicism of each film; both charming and irritating of each flick.

    So, why the average rating for this picture? Despite the tug-of-war feelings I have from my experience, the film has a dissatisfying ending (a lack of resolution or closure). Because of this, I was originally going to give this film a 2 star rating. But upon reflection, I let the film have its ambiguous ending under the whimsical allusion that perhaps that IS the point...



    "Everyone who's ever built an empire has sat right where you're sitting right now."
  • azulluz18
    December 29, 2009
    azulluz18
    se vé interesante, falta poquito para q la estrenen
  • mike0376
    December 29, 2009
    mike0376
    The ending is absoutely stupid, but there are some laughs in what I felt was a ridiclious plot to begin with. Was it something different, yes. Clooney does a good job acting, but the rest of the cast didn't do that good of a job and Anna Kendrick wasn't believable enough in my ...( read more)opinion. I paid $6, that is what this movie is worth.
  • ajgonyea
    December 28, 2009
    ajgonyea
    Amost no action, just mostly about people flying around the country and firing people. No actual plot or mystery.
  • lnygaard
    December 28, 2009
    lnygaard
    didn't much like Jason Bateman's character, otherwise wonderful. i'm waiting anxiously for more from Jason Reitman.
  • alpelaez2003
    December 28, 2009
    alpelaez2003
    Not a George Clooney fan.
  • placeinthesun455
    December 28, 2009
    placeinthesun455
    Jason Reitman really knows how to make a quality movie. wonderfully-written script that has both dramatic poignancy and hysterical humour. Clooney's character doesn't seem like much of a stretch for him, but he acts it very well. Farmiga and Kendrick also play terrific supporti...( read more)ng ladies. I don't quite remember in Thank You for Smoking, but the soundtracks for this film and Juno weren't necessarily well-known, but they fit in perfectly. overall an excellent film!
  • djsavvy21
    December 28, 2009
    djsavvy21
    I was so very happy to see Chris Lowell! And there were some great aspects to this movie, but I really hated that part where the laid-off people were saying that everything worked out because they had people around them who loved them. I resent rich people getting me to PAY for h...( read more)ope.
  • littlesheep28
    December 28, 2009
    littlesheep28
    Up in the Air has the same tone as Reitman's other movies, however, the story was told without cheesiness. The movie as a whole at least touched me more directly compare to his other films. It's no surprise such film will be many nominations this year at a time of recession in Un...( read more)ited States. Bingham's job ties into our current situation, at the same time raises a question people everywhere at same point would ask themselves. Very enjoyable and well-done.
  • qtmemoe
    December 28, 2009
    qtmemoe
    This movies was pretty dijointed. It was like it didnt know what kind of film it wanted to be. Some parts just made you LITERALY cringe! BUT, i do have to say, there were times when it was histerically funny. Mixed on how to review it. . .
  • mdeavila
    December 28, 2009
    mdeavila
    not much meat on that bone
  • pumpnbeast
    December 28, 2009
    pumpnbeast
    Another George Clooney film? He REEEEEEEALLY needs to retire
  • moonrivers
    December 28, 2009
    moonrivers
    the whole cast delivers the goods in one about living the life unpretty. a guy who fires people for a living ironically discovers that not only is he being "downsized" but that he has to train his replacement first. ouch. clooney though finally lives up to his star rep (it's n...( read more)ot just the looks, baby) and makes us care about a man/boy rogue who doesn't want to care but finally does anyway. the un-avatar.
  • flickfever
    December 27, 2009
    flickfever
    Losing your job can be a pretty disheartening and life-altering experience. Depending on how invested you may be in your work, of course. Well, Up in the Air is a film that examines the dynamics of said process and the effect that said loss may have on the person being "sacked." ...( read more)The film, on its merits alone, will have you very much interested--and invested! That being said, it will also leave you disheartened and possibly even altered once you've seen it.

    Jason Reitman (Juno) directs a film whose biting social commentary is wrapped with giggly gift wrap and risible ribbons and bows. It's really an offering to middle America (the population of which has recently been under attack by a weakened economy and a shrunken workforce-landscape.) But it's not a gift offered as charity or out of pity. It is simply a comment on the current state of things in the lives of millions who have found themselves sitting in a chair hearing dreadful words come from a relative stranger.

    Whether those words are "We're letting you go," or "Your position has been eliminated," the effect is always the same. A life has been shattered and the individual doing the shattering is left with the broken pieces. Some of those bearers of bad news will choose to sweep those pieces under the rug and go about their business. Others will step on the rug and be unsettled by the crunching beneath their feet; the echo of their action--despite it merely being their job and duty to have done this terrible thing.

    George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a professional "terminator." He's subcontracted to come in and do the deed that some employers may be too afraid to commit. And he does it by employing the only methods he knows how to: cool and suave professionalism and a proportionate amount of emotional detachment. But this lifestyle of meandering from city to city--being up in the air traveling from business to business, making other people's limbo less of a harsh reality; throwing their own lives up in the air in the process--this lifestyle soon begins to become a shard of harsh reality that he himself becomes afflicted by. His own harsh reality begins to settle in as he realizes that he can dish it but cannot take it.

    When his company hires a young, ambitious dilettante (Kendricks) who is bent on revamping the business of firing people, Bingham becomes defiant, yet subtly intrigued to find out what makes such an idealistic mind tick. Meanwhile, he's maintaining a fleeting relationship with another frequent flyer (Farmiga) whom he so happens to come across while on one of his termination excursions. For a guy whose livelihood is dependent on his ability to end things; he's got a lot of flowers in full bloom.

    The film's story, in essence, becomes one of a journey--both literally and figuratively. The journey of a man to find what he's truly made of while discovering what the fabric of the working-soon-to-be-work-less country he's traveling through can truly withstand and put up with. In the end, he may find out that one of those two entities may not be able to resist as much indifference and pain--but which is the weaker one? Himself or the workforce he is helping to diminish?

    The reason Up in the Air works on so many levels is because, despite its touchy, topical subject matter, it really speaks to the audience watching. It speaks to an audience that may be comprised of people who relate to the movie in more ways than they'd be willing to admit (either because of personal experience or a connection to someone who's been fired.) But the words written in the screenplay, the film's director, and the characters depicted never talk down or condescend to the audience because the film is made with a purpose of uplifting the downtrodden spirits of the viewer. It doesn't do this in any grandiose manner. It does so by being true to a situation that millions are experiencing at once--right now. It does so by being honest and being funny and being human and being true.

    While Up in the Air may not be a perfect film that deals with happy-go-lucky themes, it is certainly a touching, reflective movie that doesn't pander to or patronize anybody. Instead, it further instills that the loss of daily purpose or a weekly paycheck does not equal losing your dignity, humanity or even your dreams. Perhaps its merely a wake up call. A call to action.
  • tequilamockingbird82
    December 27, 2009
    tequilamockingbird82
    The buzz around this is a little puzzling. It seems like Reitman's weakest movie so far. Of course that's not saying much. It is authentically entertaining but the "message" is a very old one.
  • alexyluthor
    December 27, 2009
    alexyluthor
    Excellent screenplay, excellent performances across the board. Up in the Air is the type of film that sticks with you long after the credits roll without trying very hard to do so. Reitman is quickly becoming a director whose work you see regardless of the film.
  • codyfranklin2
    December 27, 2009
    codyfranklin2
    I really enjoyed this film but it was nothing groundbreaking or too original. Of course George Clooney can make anything watchable, but his character is nothing he hasn?t done in the past. The story is a good one and really does strike a cord with anyone who has been affected wit...( read more)h the present state of the economy. All of the acting is good, but the relationship between Clooney and Vera Farmiga was what I enjoyed the most. They play off each other very well and I was geniuinly interested in them ending up together in the end. The weakness of the film was the Backpack motivation speech Clooney?s character was pushing, I thought it was a weak idea and it never convinced me in any way that it was a real idea that would sale. I thought Clooney?s character was solid and the viewer doesn?t need the backpack theory to support his ideals. I liked Anna Kendrick, but her idea of termination via the internet instead of in person is not very revolutionary, and thought it was a idea that would have been toyed with 8 years earlier. Luckily these two plot points don?t drive the entire film, but there was enough to bother me. Up In The Air did follow a few clichés, especially at the end that made it a little predictable, but I did like how the movie ended. I enjoyed how Clooney?s character had some strong belief?s and goals and happy with his life and set in his ways. As soon as he begins to question his lifestyle he gets everything he ever wanted, and it's not enough. He now must continue with the way things were and it ends up tragic. I thought it took some guts to end the film the way it did and do recommend it. It?s a good movie, but think it getting too much attention as a great film, which it isn?t. Clooney floats this boat with a strong supporting cast and Jason Reitman is proving he is a good director with a bright future. If a great script drops in his lap he has the potential to make a great film.
  • toscananotte
    December 27, 2009
    toscananotte
    Unpredictable and entertaining. Clooney was fantastic in the role and I enjoyed the supporting actors as well. Not a belly laugh sort of film, but lots of humor and some pathos. Thought-provoking.
  • holmennnguy
    December 27, 2009
    holmennnguy
    Up In The Air is a truly incredible movie. For some odd reason I consider it a feel-good movie even though it is very depressing? George Clooney is excellent in the lead and will definitely win an Oscar for his role. Both Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were terrific supporting ac...( read more)tresses with Miss Kendrick edging out Farmiga by quite a bit. The screenplay was cleverly written and really made the movie much better as a whole. Overall this is one of the standout films of 2009 that I think will be remembered in many years to come.
  • tilbee
    December 27, 2009
    tilbee
    I didn't like this movie and don't see what people would like about it. It wasn't funny, dramatic or touching, it won't be out long until they send it to DVD.
  • adamgaboogaboo
    December 27, 2009
    adamgaboogaboo
    Wow. What a fantastic movie.
  • gaerniak
    December 26, 2009
    gaerniak
    Um, where to start criticizing this movie?
    Well, let's begin with the good:
    This movie favors from three good things or I should say, one good and the other incredible. It has very sharp dialogue, almost tongue-in-cheek in some way, and that's because of the way it feels fluent,...( read more) natural, and real. I say only good though, since I consider the writing to be pretty darn weak, but the dialogue is strong. The other two things come in the form of two individuals: Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The two co-leads play their characters with so much life and charisma; they steal the movie right off Clooney's hands because he just plays a character who's a combination of different characters from his previous movies.... nothing that impressive really, but that's not to say he's bad, cause he's not. I must say that Kendrick does deliver the best performance out of the bunch though. She fits the role of the inexperienced and amateurish newcomer to the workforce and life so well, that she's often more right than she thinks on her assumptions in life and her lack of sympathy for Clooney's off-beat character.

    Which brings me to the reason why I didn't like this movie....
    I see what it's saying about a man who preaches that having no compromises is a good way of life, and when this individual reaches a point when he sees that his way of life is absolute loneliness and that all he's been doing has not been worth it. Ok, I get that part, but what I don't get is why exactly should I care? Especially when the other character arcs including Farmiga's and Kendrick's are just vignettes that all lead back to Clooney's unsympathetic and seemingly incomplete story? Clooney's Ryan Bingham is clearly a fool in the eyes of co-worker Natalie (Kendrick) and it so happens that she doesn't have a lot of "experience" in life and love to understand the way he lives. I guess I go with the sophomoric views of Natalie since I also don't fully get why I should have been so absorbed in Clooney's plight as he realizes everything has not been worth it, and he enters into a freaking midlife crisis (of sorts). Even the surface coverage of the economic disparity in current times as seen in the film, is just another vehicle that crashes back to Bingham's self-absorbed philosophies.
    I just don't know.... I just don't see what I was supposed to click with here.
    And I also don't understand why this is receiving the warmest of receptions when it's less than half of what I was expecting.

    Sorry, Mr. Reitman, but all those "BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR!!!" notations are way off mark, and are being directed at the wrong movie. This is by no means the best film I saw in 2009, and it's also not the award worthy material pretty much the majority of the damn critics cite it to be. It's just a half-assed tripe with a wholly cumbersome (just like Clooney's uncompromising philosophy on life) character study premise set against the recession gimmick that doesn't make it any less relevant if it would have been released 20 years ago.
    If there was a point, I guess I missed it.
  • muttonman21
    December 26, 2009
    muttonman21
    Excellent... ^_^

    Will type s'more laters... possibly change the star-rating, too. :p
  • donald5755
    December 26, 2009
    donald5755
    it seem to be very intersting movie never a dull minute
  • bgeggo
    December 26, 2009
    bgeggo
    Clooney charms and quips his way through another character too cool to be real, unless Clooney himself is like this in his personal life. This film is funny, timely, and covers the ground quickly as we take a look at today's business climate. I can see this winning an Oscar. S...( read more)olid third film from Reitman.
  • art8man2008
    December 26, 2009
    art8man2008
    I saw this movie yesterday and Ireally like this Movie a lot. I i think George Clooney may win another Oscar.
  • dusthansen
    December 26, 2009
    dusthansen
    9/10. One of the best screenplays in recent memory. It captures this time perfectly and hits all the right character notes. Perfectly paced. Very funny and deeply affecting. For anyone who ever moved away from home. It challenges the notion that "no man is an island", which sound...( read more)s cliche but you'll get sucked in. It's Clooney's best performance ever. Go see this.
  • bonibonbonib
    December 26, 2009
    bonibonbonib
    Hi I am Albena nice to meet you my e-mail boni_bonbonib@abv.bg end my phon +359881342541
  • khunglong3duoi
    December 26, 2009
    khunglong3duoi
    wish i could rate it right now! i have to wait! Vera farmiga did great job in Orphan, hope the same or more in this one! cant believe it can attract people that much!
  • thescarletavenger75
    December 25, 2009
    thescarletavenger75
    I was pleasantly surprised!
  • belinamaeda
    December 25, 2009
    belinamaeda
    i think it's a good movie.
  • senseivince
    December 25, 2009
    senseivince
    maybe need to before make up mind on this one
  • DrZeek
    December 25, 2009
    DrZeek
    Ryan Bingham: How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life...

    Quality film. The third feature from director Jason Reitman, who continues to churn out well made movies. A ...( read more)comedy/drama staring George Clooney as an unattached corporate downsizer. The film is well acted, well scripted, and solidly made in a way that will benefit from repeat viewings.

    Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham. His job is to fire people from theirs, making it easier for the company to avoid an episode and possible lawsuit. The anguish, hostility, and despair of those he fires has left him falsely compassionate, living out of a suitcase, and loving every second of it. When his boss, played by Jason Bateman, hires arrogant young Natalie, played by Anna Kendrick, she develops a method of video conferencing that will allow termination without ever leaving the office - essentially threatening the existence of Ryan's job he thrives on. Determined to show the naive girl the error of her logic, Ryan takes her on one of his cross country firing expeditions, but as she starts to realize the disheartening realities of her profession, he begins to see the downfalls to his way of life. During this time, Ryan also starts a relationship of sorts with a woman living a similar existence. This is Alex, played by Vera Farmiga, who shares many of Ryan's qualities, further complicating Ryan's sense of living.

    Natalie Keener: That's it? The miles are the goal?
    Ryan Bingham: Lets just say I have a number in mind and I haven't hit it yet.

    One thing that struck me as I thought about this film afterwards, was how I was immediately just into it. As I watched the film, I wasn't adjusting to the actors playing the roles or how the film has been set up, I just kind of sat into the world of this film. This happens a lot in movies I enjoy, and it was certainly the case here.

    Ryan Bingham: Last year I spent 322 out of 365 days on the road, which means I had to spend 43 miserable days at home.

    There are few actors that are as likable/charming as George Clooney, no matter the role. Here he is playing essentially a jerk of a character in the way he justifies his job and life view (as far as being purposefully alone goes), but still manages to be very easily charming. What certainly adds to what is the typical (although generally always good) Clooney role, is how the character develops over the course of the film, and watching for the ways in which is character is affected by certain circumstances that move this story along. Solid work also comes from Kendrick, who I've never seen before (although she's apparently apart of those Twilight flicks). She has a character that just works as the young foil to Clooney. Farmiga is also solid, coming off of the stressful mother role in Orphan, here she is smart, sexy, and matched up quite well to Clooney's charm. Always welcome supporting work from Bateman, Danny McBride, Sam Elliot, and J.K. Simmons as well.

    I was very much involved with the feel of this film as well. In Reitman's previous features, there was a certain style involved to enhance the satirical elements in 'Thank you for Smoking' and he worked hard to keep me in line with the hipster world of Juno. Here, Reitman has a subtle but distinct look for this film, aside from the birds-eye-view city transitions and the Raimi-style quick edit motions, I loved the way Clooney's life as a man who constantly travels by air is captured, feeling somewhat slick, until he gets more involved with his family, leading to more and more hand held camera work to come into play. This is quite a good looking film throughout.

    The way Clooney's job plays into the film is interesting as well. Originally being written by Reitman as a personal project in 2002, before 'Smoking,' when America was still booming; with the economic turn, the film also turned in its structure, leading to scenes of tragic circumstances trying to be mended by Clooney's character and what he is employed to do. It should be noted that these scenes feature real people, actually recently laid off from work, and portraying their reactions in the same manner.

    The film features a solid soundtrack as well. Some choice tracks mixed with a nice alternative sounding score. Reitman may not have a specific niche in this area like a director like Wes Anderson, but he certainly knows how to put in what works for the most part.

    Very much enjoyed this film. Solid in all its aspects, never feeling overlong, giving a chance for good actors to shine, while scoring laughs, good dramatic notes, and did I mention...an appearance by Young MC.

    Alex Goran: He broke up with you through a text message?
    Ryan Bringham: ...Kinda like firing someone over the Internet.
  • ScrapMetal81
    December 24, 2009
    ScrapMetal81
    This is the movie sweeping the award show nominations??? Not a good year for movies I guess.
  • beauhodson
    December 24, 2009
    beauhodson
    Good movie, thought provoking, good acting, really liked the lead actress, but it left me feeling a bit empty at the end, and a bit depressing, but I respect the reality component to the plot.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    December 24, 2009
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Wow! This movie really capture the essense of it and what a tremendous acting job by Clooney, maybe his best acting role in his career, he really brought it this time. Awesome story and fantastic ending, simply amazing movie worth all the nominations for the golden globes and sur...( read more)e to be nominated for the oscars, brilliant!

    Ryan Bingham's job is to fire people from theirs. The anguish, hostility, and despair of his "clients" has left him falsely compassionate, living out of a suitcase, and loving every second of it. When his boss hires arrogant young Natalie, she develops a method of video conferencing that will allow termination without ever leaving the office - essentially threatening the existence Ryan so cherishes. Determined to show the naive girl the error of her logic, Ryan takes her on one of his cross country firing expeditions, but as she starts to realize the disheartening realities of her profession, he begins to see the downfalls to his way of life.
  • Dracula787
    December 24, 2009
    Dracula787
    I?m not the first person to point this out, but it increasingly seems like George Clooney is the last representative of a certain kind of unapologetic movie-star acting. Clooney will never have his work analyzed the same way someone would analyze a performance by, say, Daniel Da...( read more)y-Lewis or Robert De Niro when he was at his best; but in the right role this can be more of a strength than a weakness. Much the way someone like Cary Grant became a legend by simply playing variations on an established persona, Clooney has been giving audiences what they expect from him since he left behind his TV origins. Clooney?s newest film, Up in the Air, is not an exception; he gives exactly the performance you expect him to give and that?s not a criticism.

    The film is largely a character study about a man named Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) who claims to have only spent forty out of the last 365 nights at his one room apartment in Omaha, the rest of the time has been spent traveling. Bingham is not married, he has no children, and he neither has nor desires any possessions that can?t be fit into a carry-on bag. He is not merely content with his lifestyle; he takes pride in it, even going so far as to hold public speaking events where he preaches the values of cutting the burdens out of one?s life. The lifestyle is made possible by Bingham?s unconventional job; he works for a company which sends out agents to other companies in order to deliver the bad news to the employees that they?re laying off. Bingham doesn?t take pleasure in this somewhat morbid task, though he does see a sort of dignity in his methods, but he?s primarily doing this so he can continue to live in transit.

    But this way of life is being threatened. A young woman named Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who has recently begun working at Bingham?s company, has proposed cutting the agency?s travel budget in favor of firing people via webcams. Bingham protests this new way of operating vehemently both because it strikes him as indecently impersonal and secondly because it would kill his traveling lifestyle. Bingham?s boss (Jason Bateman) decides to send Keener out on the road with Bingham in order to better assess the viability of her plan. Bingham reluctantly brings her along hoping he can convince her against her plans.

    That summery is really pretty deceptive, firstly because I have yet to bring up the character of Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) who is the main love interest for George Clooney. It?s hard to fit her into a brief summery because this script can be surprisingly un-formulaic in many ways. Goran and Bingham meet early in the film and bond over a shared love of air travel and the amenities it can entail. She then leaves the film for a while as the story between Bingham and Keener develops before re-emerging somewhere in the middle of the second act.

    First and foremost, it should probably be established that this whole business of Bingham?s agency threatening to turn into a web-based rather than travel based process is, for the most part, a rather elaborate MacGuffin. It?s also a MacGuffin that can rather stretch believability at times, I?m not sure I entirely buy that this company is going to be all that interested in Keener?s plans in the first place, nor do I particularly buy the elaborate on the road training they decide to put her through. However, quibbling about this is to miss the point, the real reason the film has brought these two characters together is to see how their world views will clash. Keener is someone with a rigid plan for life, she?s someone who has a very specific vision of her future which involves a husband, a suburban house, and two and a half kids; the notion of someone who would want something else for themselves is kind of a shock to her.

    This clash of views does play out in a pretty amusing way, but it?s also probably one of the film?s biggest weaknesses. Keener is a character that can be almost cartoonishly naïve at times, I can understand that they were trying to create a character who was as determined in their way of seeing the world as Bingham, but her worldview is derives less of conviction than it does of obliviousness. She says and does things that I can?t really picture anyone, no matter how naïve, saying. As such she comes off less like a natural character and more as some kind of walking symbol of everything that Bingham isn?t, at least during the scenes that place more emphasis on this clash of personalities. Fortunately, the Keener character does evolve over the course of the film and becomes more believable later on, the second half of the film fares a lot better than the first.

    The character of Goran also feels pretty artificial early in the film. They meet in an airport bar and start bonding over their wide array of traveler?s discount cards. Maybe there really are people who think that frequent flyer miles are dead sexy, but I?ve never met them and hope I never do. Of course that?s just a cutesy way to establish that this woman is pretty much the female equivalent of Bingham, but again the screenplay?s habit of tailoring characters to contrast the lead works against it. Fortunately, the Goran character becomes more human as the film progresses much the way the Keener character does. The relationship does work pretty well in the film as well, largely because Cloony and Farmiga have really good onscreen chemistry.

    Jason Reitman, who?s consistently proving to be a reliable director of slightly stylized realities, certainly crafts the film well. Reitman is a director with the valuable talent of being able to employ a number of tricks but without allowing them to become distractions. A good example of this are the methodical steady-cam shots of Bingham?s rolling carry-on bag as it twists and pivots. He shoots it in a way that perfectly expresses Bingham?s methodical nature, but he doesn?t get carried away and turn it into some sort of extended tracking shot. That kind of ambition with restraint is a very hard tightrope to walk and it?s a skill that?s easy to overlook.

    Watching Up in the Air I found myself reminded of a relatively forgotten 2005 film called The Weatherman, in which Nicholas Cage played a T.V. weatherman who needs to come to terms with their own mediocrity. Both are films about middle-aged men going through existential crises, both have similarly sarcastic voice-overs, hell, both even used Iggy Pop?s ?The passenger? for their trailers (then again what trailers aren?t using that song these days?). In spite of all these similarities the two movies are perhaps opposites if one thinks about it, The Weatherman is about someone who hates his job and comes to terms with it by the end while Up in the Air is about a man who loves his job and begins to question it by the end. Perhaps what can be learned from this unintentional similarity is that discontent can hit anyone and that the feeling will still be the same even if the paths it takes is pretty different.

    So, what we have here is a well acted and well directed movie with good dialogue? and it didn?t really do a lot for me. Like with An Education earlier this year, what we have here is a very well crafted movie with a story that maybe doesn?t deserve all the talent that?s been put behind it, especially during its rocky first half. This may simply case where I might just not be the right audience for this story. Though this isn?t really a comedy, the audience I was with were laughing at a lot of parts of this which weren?t all that funny to me. This is certainly a very enjoyable and entertaining movie which will probably deservedly be a hit with audiences, but I don?t think it really rises above the level of ?pleasant? all that often.
  • kent47
    December 24, 2009
    kent47
    A funny, adult comedy. well-written and acted. Clooney is fantastic as a detached, jet setting corporate job-cutter. Vera Farminga is equally as great as Clooney's romatic foil. It has a feel of realism and a post modern message that we all need some human connection. The en...( read more)ding is bittersweet, but overall a funny movie.
  • deede
    December 24, 2009
    deede
    An excellent movie!!
  • Plamtree
    December 23, 2009
    Plamtree
    interesting but i got lost...
  • snarky4ever
    December 23, 2009
    snarky4ever
    I don't know if I will see this but maybe. My dicision is "Up In The Air" lol.
  • mamalelly
    December 23, 2009
    mamalelly
    NUY BUENA Y DE MUCHO SUSPENSO
  • acuman50
    December 23, 2009
    acuman50
    Very well done "Human Experience" movie
  • cwodtke
    December 22, 2009
    cwodtke
    Amazing movie, funny and touching. and the ambiguous ending is a refreshing change form most hollywood pics (although if you like your movies tidy, ti may not be your cup of tea.)

Summary

Up in the Air Summary