Up in the air by Jason Reitman
Written by: Borys Musielak
Up in the air, which I have just seen at the BFI London Film Festival, is not a typical festival movie. It's rather a typical blockbuster, a smart (romantic?) comedy with lots of great lines and fabulous acting. It's the sort of movie that gets both the critical acclaim and a wide audience. Quite an accomplishment of Juno director, Jason Reitman.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a "terminator". He sacks people for living. And in the current economy climate, he's got a lot of work to do. He spends 300+ days a year traveling around the States only to tell people, whose bosses are "too much of a pussy" to tell it themselves, that they are being fired. He loves his job. Or maybe it's not that he really loves the job itself, but he rather enjoys the type of life he's allowed to lead because of it. No relationships. No home. Always in the run. Always busy. No time to really think about his future.
If you were to leave and were only allowed to carry a small bag-pack, what would you put inside? Ryan has to answer this
question daily. And he's got no problem with that, because -- just like Rober De Niro in Michael Mann's Heat -- he's got nothing he could not get rid of in just about a minute. No things, no relationships. Nothing.
Well, at least until he meets Alex (Vera Farmiga). She's a beautiful woman about his age, also a traveler-for-living. "Think about me as of yourself with a vagina" -- she says. And she really means it. They seem like a perfect match. Both in the run, with no time for proper relationships. They set up a schedule to meet in hotel rooms in random cities and have fun together. So far so good...
But then things start to get complicated. Both in Ryan's work, family and the so called "relationship". There is no point going into details here. Some of them might spoil you the fun of watching the movie. I might just say, don't expect the typical things to happen -- the film, even though still pretty conventional, has a few surprises for you. And the best part is that it keeps the balance. It's very funny, but not just a comedy. It talks about problems, but it's too lightweight to be called a drama. Still it somehow finds a perfect mix to provide us with 1.5 hours of great entertainment, part of which is George Clooney himself, who seems like a perfect match for the role, and really drives the movie. A few sentences, like those about marriage or commitment, seem like the things he might be actually saying himself, like they are really his opinions on those matters, which made it only more real and true.
Official trailer is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xIUtRrTlgo
The movie opens world-wide in early 2010. Go see it when you want something light and funny!
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