A brilliant take on the grounded realities of life

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2009)

Anything George Clooney (and that dreamy smile), and I lower my requirements from a movie immediately.I had been eagerly anticipating it's release and made sure that I caught the movie the very first day that it hit my Virginia multiplex. This is one of those movies that is so multi-faceted and multi-dimensioned, that it becomes very challenging to write a review that will do it justice.
The director : Jason Rietman (who also directed the much applauded "Juno") builds the movie around Ryan Bingham. To the director's biggest credit, Clooney is Bingham, and not the other way around. Bingham works for an agency that helps employers fire their employees, and escape the messy situation of having to do it themselves. His job keeps him on the road, rather "up in the air" for more than four-fifths of a year (I think).
Bingham is a loyal American Airlines traveler who flies cross-country to help corporations "terminate" their employees. He leaves them with a package that has a road map for their future unemployed days. Bingham's agency hires a recent Cornell grad, Natalie Keener (played by Anna Kendrick). Ms Keener proposes the money saving, highly efficient, zero travel requiring idea of firing people over the internet. Bingham pooh-poohs this idea, citing how inhuman and mechanized this process would be. His boss makes him take Keener along for his last firing spree. Some of the most satirical moments of the movie occur here. Bingham's efficient and seasoned traveler ways are comically juxtaposed with Keener's over-packed and inexperienced ways. One brilliant scene is where Bingham shows Keener the stereotypical ways of other air travelers: "Never get behind old people. Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love 'em".
Kendrick does tremendous justice to Keener's role. She brings out the hardheadedness, confident and yet highly vulnerable characteristics of Keener's role to a T. Bingham's casual, and initially endearing relationship with another frequent traveler- Alex (Vera Farmiga) provides some sweet romantic relief to the movie. Another few sets of brilliant scenes are when the trio crashes a tech company celebration at their hotel. Keener's well planned time line for her life is wonderfully contrasted with the older duos nonchalant and non-committal ways. Bingham's public speaking episodes that ask "How much does you life weigh?" are extremely well constructed and poignant. I will not write too much about the plot, as I want you to get your bang for the buck when you watch this movie yourself. Every single character in the plot: Bingham's boss (played by Jason Bateman of the Arrested Development fame), his sisters, his cold feet-ed on the wedding day brother-in-law does beyond ample justice to his/her role. Every character that Bingham and Keener are brought in to fire is amazingly directed and brings out the hurt, scare, numbness and confusion of a just fired employee to realistic perfection. Stereotypically, the Indian nerd firing scene is my personal favorite!
Don't confuse this for a feel good movie or an easy breezy air- travel satire. The emotional landscape of each character is wonderfully layered. The story flows with ease, slides and glides with an array of complex feelings, it provides some easy laughs, some subtle smiles and ends the way that most life stories do. No candy floss romance, no everything fixed hunky dory life. In a very subtle way, the movie does send across a message. Life is not worth living as a cynic. When one door shuts.....a floodgate of new possibilities can open, as long as you don't close your mind to it.
I can not praise this wonderfully directed, brilliantly acted movie enough. I loved the aerial views of different US cities, the well selected soundtrack. I can also easily see this gem of a movie win Academy nominations for the best actor, direction, cinematography and soundtrack (if only my opinion counted...)