Profoundly sad....

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2011)

"Up in the Air" is a movie you must force yourself to stick with, as although many of the characters are difficult to like it's still very well worth seeing. Much of this is because of the clever script, much of it is because of the nice acting but most of it is because the film avoids all the typical clichés you see in movies. In fact, this is one of the best films of 2009--and far better than some of the other Oscar nominees. Perhaps not as good as "Precious" or "Hurt Locker" but a wonderful film.
George Clooney stars as a strange and rather antisocial man. No, this does not mean he commits crimes or he hits people--he's just convinced that it's better to have no connections in life...none. He is thrilled that his job keeps him on the road 320+ days a year and has worked very hard to avoid closeness or ties. And, at first I hated this sort of thing as the film seemed to be saying this was a good thing. However, through the course of the film you see a few minor chinks in Clooney's armor. Perhaps it isn't quite as perfect as he says it is--even if he does give seminars on the joys of non-connectedness when he isn't doing his regular job--which is traveling the country and firing people for various clients--a great job for such a guy.
There is MUCH more to the film than this and two important women that come into Clooney's life. But the best part of it is NEVER does the film give in to sentiment and clichés--Clooney does NOT discover any magic and the film does not end of a typical Hollywood note. It's daring and you may not like the fact it is not a 'happily ever after' film--but I loved that it was deliberately vague and left so much to the viewer to make of the movie. Clever and well worth seeing...HOWEVER, be careful. It's not a movie to watch if you are unemployed or have just come out of a relationship--it might just churn up too many personal issues. Great...just be careful.
By the way, there was one thing I did not love about the film. The soundtrack was filled with too much LOUD indie wuss music and it was, at times, too pervasive and invasive.