it flies & delivers

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2009)

"Up in the Air" is special because it's solidly good in (what used to be) an ordinary way. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. Most films today (especially American ones) open strong, continue adequately and then make a very long march to the credits, because they don't know how to stop.
One of the nicest things about "Up in the Air" is that it knows how, where and when to leave you--so you leave the theater solidly satisfied.
The other thing that cries out for admiration is the artfulness of the script. The film's logic is rooted, where it should be, in a fine screenplay. The actors get neat things to say, neat situations to convey, and they do a neat job with them.
For me, the standout performance belongs to Kendricks. Her character is sincere, complex and consistent. At the same time she's coiled, intense and unpredictable. Clooney & Farmiga, to an extent, are hampered by having to depict people who are not quite believable--although Clooney compensates with (what I see as) his trademark, dogged humanity.
And danged if I know why, but I always love seeing Sam Elliott.
This film deserves the highest rating--because, in our day, the solidly good has become heroic--and because, at its end, "Up in the Air" is so roundly satisfying.