A film for Grown-Ups

Rating: 9/10 (4 February 2010)

If you are trying to decide whether to go and see Up In The Air, the big question is "Is the brief shot of Vera Farmiga's delightfully unclad derriere sashaying across the screen reason enough, in itself, to go and see this film?" Without hesitation, I give you the answer - "Of course it is!" But there are quite a lot of other reasons for seeing this movie, despite the fact that it is really difficult to categorise. It's not a comedy, although it is often very funny. It's not a romance, although there are romantic elements. It's not a drama, despite having a lot of (low key) drama in it. It isn't social commentary, but you will be aware of some acidic observations on modern day living. And so on.
There are four distinct elements, although they are so deftly intertwined that they never strike you as distinct and separate. They are:
1. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney)'s determined espousal of his executive traveller's lifestyle and rejection of a conventional rooted lifestyle and the connection to other people that goes with it;
2. The arrival of pushy young Anna Kendrick (Natalie Keener), the threat to Ryan's lifestyle which she poses, the defensive action he puts into play, and the effects this has on Anna;
3. The development of Ryan's relationship with fellow executive traveller Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga); and
4. Ryan's family, from which he is almost estranged.
The core of the film is the way in which all these things work on Ryan. This is a film for grown ups. The audience when I saw it were all of mature years, and there was quite a lot of knowing laughter, particularly at some of the unconsciously patronisingly ageist remarks Anna makes. The performances are uniformly excellent, and Clooney (in a part which suits him down to the ground) is given an opportunity to show that Ryan has depths he never realised he had. The script is sharp, and a first class example of how effectively a decent script lifts a film into becoming something special.
An excellent film, and I thoroughly recommend it.
Plus, like I said, there's this bit with Vera Farmiga in it...