Excellent!!

Rating: 9/10 (3 April 2010)

*****Only minor spoilers***** Ryan Bingham has a job that has him travelling around the country firing people. He lives out of a suitcase as he travels around most of the year & he seems to love it in the air. But, when his company plans to ground him, Ryan isn't happy. He takes Natalie Keener, an extremely vibrant, young woman under his wing to provide her some insights to his work before they can ground him permanently.
It deals with the sorry state of the economy last year. How it affected so many people & their families. This film works well on so many levels & the Oscar nominations for George Clooney & Vera Farmiga were well deserved. Even though Anna Kendrick did a very good job in playing Natalie, I didn't think that she deserved a nomination. Don't hate me for that. I love the Twilight films, this has nothing to do with her in those films. The background score really fits the movie well.
I loved Ryan's character. Who wouldn't want to be like him (but just for a while though, you do want that someone special with you as you grow up). Jason Bateman also does a good job as the boss of Ryan. Jason Reitman has written & directed a wonderful story about a man who doesn't want commitments in life, who doesn't want to grow up, who thinks of himself as being a free bird. This is one of Clooney's better performances. The film can be watched again & again. I'm glad I watched "Up In The Air". This is about family values, how one shouldn't get afraid of commitments & one must be ready to have their hearts broken at some point in life. Vera Farmiga plays Alex, the woman who wants a casual thing with Ryan Bingham. Ryan & Alex are both funny, smart, don't want to be in a serious relationship & just seem to us, as an audience, the perfect people for each other.
The one scene I really loved was when Natalie breaks down at the airport & starts crying & Ryan was just so unsure of what to do. I didn't think Anna Kendrick was a good actress before this, but she's absolutely an amazing talented actress. Each scene stays with you, long after the film has ended. The whole thing is good. This is one of those films which has to be in your collection.
9/10
-Girish, 20