Good film but nothing spectacular or particularly memorable

Rating: Null/10 (16 February 2010)

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) works for Omaha based Career Transition Counseling whose contracts are in corporate downsizing. His job is to meet employees face to face and subsequently fire them. Ryan flies around the US over 320 days of the year, which he feels is the best part of his job. A secondary job he has is to give motivational speeches on relieving one's life of excess physical and emotional baggage. Ryan's life may change when the company hires Natalie Keener, a young overachieving woman who recommends that the company change the nature of the work by conducting the "firings" via remote computer access. Ryan believes that Natalie does not fully understand the nature of the business, and as such, their boss, Craig Gregory, suggests that she accompany Ryan on a business trip. Ryan is also trying to protect his way of life, which now includes meeting up with a woman named Alex Goran whenever their flight schedules mesh. Like Ryan, Alex, who he met in an airport hotel bar, is constantly traveling for work.
Up in the Air is a well made, entertaining and quite enjoyable film. There's no doubt about that. It's poignant, quirky and balances extremely well comedic moments with more dramatic scenes. However, it's not a spectacular film by any means. And although it touches some pretty interesting subjects, the film is predictable and quite conventional following the same formula and using the same gimmicks that so many other films use. The message of the film is clear; Man need connection, people need other people in their lives, we need significant relationships to be happy. No matter how happy Ryan thought he was in the beginning of the film, leading his independent and carefree life, he eventually comes to the realization that, like everyone else, he too needs meaningful connections, either if it's a lover or a sister, doesn't matter. The performances were all extremely solid with Clooney being very charismatic as always and newcomer Anna Kendrick showing quite a bit of potential.
And yes, the film also has a certain "extra" relevance due to today's economy. There's millions of people loosing their jobs and the films shows a bit of how corporate America works and how ruthless it can be. There's no question that this is a film that deals with the real world, but again, there's nothing that impressive or striking about the film. And let it be perfectly clear that I enjoyed the film very much but, having said that, I would expect a film nominated for 6 Oscars to be outstanding. And I could address the fact that today the Oscars are nothing but a joke but that's a completely different subject. In conclusion, Up in the Air is a well made film, with a good script and solid performances. Just not what it's made out to be.
7/10