Turbulent Skies.

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2009)

Thsi movie joins THE HURT LOCKER & AVATAR as 1 of the truly great films of the year.
You gotta give writer/director Jason Reitman a lot of credit for keeping this emotional mess of a movie flying. It soars on the strength of the writing, direction & 3 excellent performances surrounded by a slew of really good ones.
As much as I'd like to describe this movie I don't want to give anything away. It is as unpredictable as that "A" movie is predictable. It could have gone wrong so many times but it doesn't.
If it wasn't for MICHAEL CLAYTON this would be Clooney's best work in a career filling with outstanding efforts. He could've gotten away with slickness here & made it look easy. The pain in his eyes & forced smile are conveyed with all the discomfort of a suit that fits a bit too tight. Vera Farmiga is sexier than hell as his lover. Their chemistry matches the kind that Clooney had with J-Lo in OUT OF TIME (?). And Anna Kendrick is as much of a discovery as Jeremy Renner was from THE HURT LOCKER. She is an electric bundle of ambition, vulnerability & cuteness. All 3 are memorable.
This film takes some unexpected turns & gets very murky in an emotional sense but they all add to the depth of what goes on in it. As much as I love THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, UP IN THE AIR represents a big step forward for Reitman. It is very dark stuff.