It's Lonely Up There

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2013)

There's a lot of people out there that are so afraid of being alone, or feel so pressured to aspire to certain merits, or just feel the most comfortable meeting someone, marrying them, and making a family. Then there are other people out there who prefer isolating themselves, keeping their emotional connections tenuous and living in the perfectly controlled world of zero social responsibility. They work, they love their job, and they fulfill vaguely relationshipy things that eventually fade out. George Clooney (who is either terribly unhappy or just really enjoys acting sad in his movies) is Ryan Bingham, and Ryan Bingham has a backpack he wants to burn and a pink slip he wants to give you. He has women in his life: those he avoids because they represent too many emotional connections, and those he sees casually they come and go with the wind. It's a certain one in particular, a new coworker played by Anna Kendrick, who knocks him off his rhythm and inadvertently forces him to ask questions he's been avoiding all his life. She's an idealist: young, brilliant, and horribly naive. For all intents and purposes, she essentially ruins his life. It's by pure accident and we essentially watch him give birth to himself. It's beautiful and messy and it's rather unfortunate that the film ends with the baby in a basket, so to speak. But a sequel to this film would end up being a Hallmark Movie of the Week, and those are too gushy for this cynical, bittersweet piece. Vera Farmiga is delicious in this movie up until a random point that, while well told, I don't agree with. Anna Kendrick is adorable as always and Clooney manages to once again skirt that line between godlike and everyman that just leaves you in tatters. He's like Cary Grant with just the perfect pinch of Gary Cooper.