If you're disappointed, you didn't get it

Rating: 10/10 (2 January 2010)

The one thing that you will hear from 30% of critics and 60% of audiences about this movie is that the ending was a disappointment. The acting, superb; the screenplay, humorous with drama that makes you think; the direction, Jason Reitman's best; but the ending, disappointing. If you share this opinion of the film then you did not get the point.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a professional termination technician (in lay terms, he fires people for a living). He has settled into a lifestyle where he flies across the country for over 300 days a year. Due to this lifestyle his one goal in life is to accumulate 10,000,000 frequent flyer miles.
When a new hire at his company (Natalie Keener portrayed by Anna Kendrick) shows up wanting to change his business so that all the firing can be done over the internet, Bingham is told to take Keener with him on his next trip to show her the ropes of the business. While flying across the country Bingham meets Alex (Vera Farmiga), another middle aged travel hog and they begin to sleep together whenever their travel plans overlap.
The plot takes a turn when Bingham's boss decides to take Keener's new strategy over Bingham's old one; he goes to his sister's wedding with Alex. Through all of these people arriving in his life and events taking place, Bingham realizes that the way he is living doesn't work for him anymore.
After this little turn everyone is expecting the clichéd, redemption ending where Bingham gets the girl and becomes a wholesome person. This to say the least does not happen and that is the point. He led his life by running away from responsibility and relationships. The way the world is right now means that he can't just change and expect to be rewarded with everything that he wants. That is the point of the film. That the life that he led came back to bite him in the ass when he let down the wall he had built around himself.
Yes the plot is very depressing in the end and will leave you surprised, but that is the beauty of the film. It creates a stable and funny premise and let's all hell break loose.
Aside from that, Up in the Air will make you feel happy for a variety of reasons. Anna Kendrick's performance is the best of her career. She is funny, and smart but naïve which makes her a very interesting and realistic character. Vera Farmiga is also very good, as she plays Clooney's match and yet polar opposite simultaneously.
Clooney also has the best performance of his career in this film. His protagonist role fools you into believing things that are inherently untrue and unrealistic. This gives the film the power to pull the rug out from under you.
This movie is happy, sad, inspiring, and depressing all at once and that can come as a bit of a shock. But I suggest you see the film again if you didn't like it the first time. Maybe it will surprise you again.