Presenting the latest installment of Reel Brief: Up in the Air, or as you'll soon see, the genius of Jason Reitman. (Pardon the clichés—they totally do not reflect what I thought of the film. This film is anything but clichéd.)
Up in the Air – A-
Up in the Air is the latest dark comedy/drama from Canadian auteur Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking), and it certainly displays his maturity while retaining his creative and innovative style definitive of his earlier efforts. The film, adapted from Walter Kirn's novel, follows Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a man who jets around the country attempting to alleviate the stress and devastation of newly fired employees. In other words, he fires people whose bosses are too afraid to do it themselves. He boasts about how he spends most of the year gallivanting through the skies and leading a life of continuous solitude.
The tide in Ryan's life begins to turn when he meets Alex (Vera Farmiga), a fellow frequent flyer, and develops a casual relationship with her. Around the same time, his boss (Jason Bateman) decides that Ryan should mentor an ambitious newcomer to the firm, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick). Fresh out of Cornell, Natalie naively follows Ryan around the country and quickly discovers the secrets of the trade. These two relationships gradually change Ryan's outlook on life and force him to question the purpose of his transient lifestyle.
Clooney, as he did in 2007's Michael Clayton, presents an effortlessly suave and charming persona harboring a delusional conscience. From the outset, Ryan Bingham is Clooney at his best—smooth but complex, sophisticated but capricious. Clooney's charm and wit always seems to harken back to a star of yore—Cary Grant—and this performance only solidifies this notion. Farmiga complements Clooney, providing both a parallel and a contrast to Clooney's character. But the true scene-stealer is the talented Kendrick, who has the film's most snarky and sarcastic lines. She provides much of the comic relief, and yet she plays the film's most honest and fully fleshed character. Kendrick's genuine grace separates Natalie from the typical "young protégé" archetype.
The magnificent star turns from Clooney, Farmiga, and Kendrick carry the film, but the real star of the show is Reitman. His ingenious direction guides the film onto so many unexpected avenues and puts a spin on the predictability of most "white-collar" films. By using real Midwestern employees in the firing scenes, he enhances the emotional effect of the film while sharpening its accuracy and relevance. Although the film's cynical tone and pessimistic themes represent a departure from the lighter fare of Reitman's past, its biting, acerbic wit, embedded in almost every scene, insures that the film is not a complete antithesis to his previous two films. Reitman, in collaboration with Sheldon Turner, also penned the screenplay, laced with smart humor and memorable lines, all while emphasizing dynamic character interactions. These days, it's rare to find a film with three multi-dimensional characters, especially given that two are female. Reitman avoids the hackneyed male-centric approach, opting to incorporate Alex and Natalie into Ryan's narrative as much as possible.
Elsewhere, Reitman maintains a slick, momentous feel to the film. Every shot feels perfectly placed, every frame feels just right. At times, the film's meticulous visual flair, especially Dana Glauberman's superb editing, is almost too comforting.
Up in the Air is bound to strike a chord with its audiences for its star power, delicate balance of comedy and drama, and pertinence amid today's economic climate. Critics have hailed it "a film for our times" due to its timely themes. It questions the definition of success and puts a face to the nomadic existence with which this generation increasingly identifies and consciously adopts. "The slower we move, the faster we die", Ryan asserts. We are a generation constantly on the move, but how fast can we keep moving before we lose all semblance of ourselves?
More musings...
Up in the Air – A-
Up in the Air is the latest dark comedy/drama from Canadian auteur Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking), and it certainly displays his maturity while retaining his creative and innovative style definitive of his earlier efforts. The film, adapted from Walter Kirn's novel, follows Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a man who jets around the country attempting to alleviate the stress and devastation of newly fired employees. In other words, he fires people whose bosses are too afraid to do it themselves. He boasts about how he spends most of the year gallivanting through the skies and leading a life of continuous solitude.
Clooney, as he did in 2007's Michael Clayton, presents an effortlessly suave and charming persona harboring a delusional conscience. From the outset, Ryan Bingham is Clooney at his best—smooth but complex, sophisticated but capricious. Clooney's charm and wit always seems to harken back to a star of yore—Cary Grant—and this performance only solidifies this notion. Farmiga complements Clooney, providing both a parallel and a contrast to Clooney's character. But the true scene-stealer is the talented Kendrick, who has the film's most snarky and sarcastic lines. She provides much of the comic relief, and yet she plays the film's most honest and fully fleshed character. Kendrick's genuine grace separates Natalie from the typical "young protégé" archetype.
The magnificent star turns from Clooney, Farmiga, and Kendrick carry the film, but the real star of the show is Reitman. His ingenious direction guides the film onto so many unexpected avenues and puts a spin on the predictability of most "white-collar" films. By using real Midwestern employees in the firing scenes, he enhances the emotional effect of the film while sharpening its accuracy and relevance. Although the film's cynical tone and pessimistic themes represent a departure from the lighter fare of Reitman's past, its biting, acerbic wit, embedded in almost every scene, insures that the film is not a complete antithesis to his previous two films. Reitman, in collaboration with Sheldon Turner, also penned the screenplay, laced with smart humor and memorable lines, all while emphasizing dynamic character interactions. These days, it's rare to find a film with three multi-dimensional characters, especially given that two are female. Reitman avoids the hackneyed male-centric approach, opting to incorporate Alex and Natalie into Ryan's narrative as much as possible.Elsewhere, Reitman maintains a slick, momentous feel to the film. Every shot feels perfectly placed, every frame feels just right. At times, the film's meticulous visual flair, especially Dana Glauberman's superb editing, is almost too comforting.
Up in the Air is bound to strike a chord with its audiences for its star power, delicate balance of comedy and drama, and pertinence amid today's economic climate. Critics have hailed it "a film for our times" due to its timely themes. It questions the definition of success and puts a face to the nomadic existence with which this generation increasingly identifies and consciously adopts. "The slower we move, the faster we die", Ryan asserts. We are a generation constantly on the move, but how fast can we keep moving before we lose all semblance of ourselves?
