Let a little light in

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2009)

There is a dangerous to adaptations, especially when some of the substance is left behind; then there's the issue of casting choices... "Up in The Air" has been receiving plenty of critical attention for what it has to offer. As a member of the paying audience, I have to go in with raised expectations and run into the dangerous situation of being disappointed by overzealous professional reviews. In the case of "Up in The Air", I fell into the "wish I had seen the same movie... category." For starters, there seems to be a perception that if a movie is neither a comedy or a straight drama, it is special. Take away some of the lighting or underexpose the film, and now we have a serious movie. Throw in some clever dialog, and you are hitting high marks. Well, unfortunately, a good movie should connect with us in the audience, as it delivers its message and connects to our universal truths. It's hard for me to sympathize with any of the characters of the film, except for those at the end of the firing squad, and they become a bit monotonous half way through the film.
Clooney plays the jaded business type, who for most of the film gets by with its suave demeanor. Other than his business suit, I found him hard to believe, especially as the type who wants to prove others that he might have the answers. There are moments of brilliance in his performance, in the last 10 minutes, as revelations become clear to him, but I couldn't see any other person but the star, most of the time. Unlike Harrison Ford, who doesn't resort to make up or major costume changes to create new characters, Clooney appears one dimensional most of the time. Then there is the Alex character, played with wonderful depth and richness by the amazing Vera Farmiga. She is the total opposite of Clooney, rich, sensual, mysterious, powerful, and very determined, played with such perfection that the twist at the end is solid, not ever feeling like a cheat.
The film tries hard to reach the heights of "Juno", a much clever and better written, directed, and developed presentation of the complex nature of people's behavior. The film is a series of events loosely connected by a trio of characters, never really explaining what makes them tick, and it tries to convince us that we know something by them uttering a few key lines in the big scenes, to "reveal" their motivations.
In the end, this is a small film that might have been better shown in more detailed complexity, as s TV series, with more developed, better presented situations to give us a clearer picture of where these people have been, where they're going, and what their most likely outcome will be. Somehow, the only thing clear is that the package must be sold, and Clooney makes for some great, first impression, but the box is unfortunately, half empty, and most of the stuff that is missing is the stuff that really matters.