Terrific Adult film

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2009)

"Up in the Air" is a rarity; a film specifically aimed at adults. The content and maturity level are aimed at people in the business world. There are no unique special effects or sound ques to alert those who wouldn't otherwise get the joke or understand the dialogue to get the picture. While that may eliminate the most lucrative audience (teenage boys), for those in the film's target range, it makes it more special and fulfilling.
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a man whose job is to go all around the country and "assist companies in transitioning their clients." In his words, he's the guy bosses hire to fire their employees. Ryan spends about 90% of the year either in a plane or in a hotel room, and that's just the way he likes it; this eliminates his need for companionship. But when a new employee, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) develops a new way to fire employees over the internet, he shows her the ropes in order to avoid having to go home to an empty apartment. However, she opens his eyes to why human companionship may actually be really worth it, and he begins a romance with a fellow full-time traveler, Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga).
This is a standard order romantic comedy/drama. Plotwise, there are no real surprises, so in order to fill up the void, the film must rely on smart dialogue and terrific performances. "Up in the Air" has both. The characters are richly developed, and some scenes are laugh-aloud funny.
This is easily George Clooney's best performance; another Oscar nomination is a given fact, and a second win certainly isn't out of the question. Clooney has a reputation for playing guys who do their own thing, regardless of whether it makes sense (or is legal). Ryan Bingham is no different, but Clooney works hard to add a few more dimensions to his character, and it works. Anna Kendrick is wholly believable as the Ivy League yuppie who opens his eyes to why staying single and alone maybe isn't the best thing. She also opens some of the film's funniest sequences. Vera Farmiga is also great as the woman whom Ryan begins a romance with. Clooney and Farmiga have terrific chemistry together, and co-writer/director Jason Reitman develops their relationship slowly and carefully. With romances where circumstances require the lovebirds to be away from each other for most of the picture, we only really want them to end up together in the end because the movie tells us to. This is not the case here. Once Ryan figures out that he really does want someone to spend the rest of his life with, the film focuses on the relationship between Ryan and Alex. This romance, which has already begun to burn is now allowed to catch fire and burn up the screen.
The only real problem with the film is the ending. The film throws a one-two punch at the viewer, and while it's not typical, it's been done before. Sometimes this kind of ending can work, but I'm not sure it does here.
Still, "Up in the Air" is a wonderful film and highly recommended for corporate world adults.