Up In The Air Delivers

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2012)

Up In The Air is a comedy/drama film that stars George Clooney,Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.It is a story about a corporate "downsizer" Ryan Bingham and his travels. The film follows his isolated life and philosophies along with the people he meets along the way.It was directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner based on the novel of the title that was written by Walter Kirn.
Ryan Bingham (Clooney)makes his living personally handing out pink slips -- he's the top hatchet man at a company that other companies hire when they are downsizing. And since business is booming, his job keeps him on the go constantly. He flies all across the country, staying in a series of nice hotels. And although this itinerant lifestyle prevents him from having any kind of stable, regular life, this doesn't bother him in the slightest -- he's thrilled to be a boy in a traveling bubble. During one particular layover, he strikes up a conversation with Alex Goran (Farmiga), a fellow savvy traveler. They bond over the ins and outs of various airlines and hotels, and quickly fall into bed. By morning, they are figuring out when their schedules will allow them to meet up again, even though they both make it clear that there are no strings attached. When Ryan arrives back in the home office, he meets no-nonsense career- oriented twenty-something Natalie Keener (Kendrick), a fast-rising up- and-comer who wants to change the company's practices and save millions by having the staff fire people remotely via web cams. Furious at the thought of losing a lifestyle he's grown quite comfortable with, he convinces his boss to let him take Natalie on a few trips so that she can learn what it's really like to fire someone.
George Clooney is thoroughly likable as the amusingly callous Ray.Watching him at the heart-breaking job of terminating folk is fun and gives the film its heart.The other women - Farmiga and Kendrick - also provide memorable performances.
What makes it a wonderful film is the fact that it succeeds because it doesn't take itself that seriously and it shows a moment of fundamental change in a man's life that every viewer could probably relate to as he/she have lost a job which happens to be a common thing especially with the United States experiencing an economic downturn.
Overall,the movie delivers and a classic in the making.