Up in the Air

As the Golden Globes punctuate the official beginning of this Oscar season, I felt it appropriate to review this year's Golden Globe winner for Best Screenplay: Up in the Air.

Up in the Air is at its heart, a coming of age story about Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), professional firing agent. Think of him as the opposite of a headhunter. He flies around the country sacking workers when their firms lack the gall to do so. Always on the road and a perpetual loner, he lacks the ability to form real human connections. Disconnected from his family and disavowing the notion of marriage, he alienates all who attempt to grow close to him. In fact, he's so allergic to commitment that he doesn't even keep any clothes in his closet at "home."

Speaking of home, that's the other lead of the film. Not Bingham's real home in Omaha, Nebraska, but where he feels most at home: on American Airlines' jets and in Hilton hotels. Actually, those characters are the only ones who Bingham is able to form long-term relationships with. Women come and go, but lifetime platinum status is there for you for the rest of your days.

In the process of accruing miles to achieve aforementioned status, Clooney's character meets two women who change his life in what writer-director Jason Reitman would hope would be meaningful ways. He picks up Alex (Vera Farmiga) at the bar after getting her all hot and bothered over the number of frequent flyer miles he's collected. Then, the fresh college grad Natalie (Anna Kendrick) shows up at work, threatening to revolutionize the "employment elimination" industry.

Now, apparently a movie review isn't supposed to ruin the ending of the film, so I'll leave you to either to watch or guess the predictable events that follow. But suffice it to say that I was neither challenged nor impressed. The two female characters were nothing but single-faceted caricatures that served to further a not-exactly-believable storyline. Both actresses are getting plenty of attention on the awards circuit, but it's difficult to discern their acting ability with such weak character development inherent in the script. I even told MX that the only reason Ms Kendrick should be receiving any award attention at all is because voters felt guilty for spurning Ellen Page a couple years back. Are we recycling Juno MacGuff already?

Mr Clooney, although good in this movie, seemed to be playing a character remarkably similar to himself. I was left wondering just how difficult it could have been for him to play an attractive middle-aged man who happily jetted around the world as a perpetual bachelor.

Now I've already received plenty of criticism over my lack of appreciation for Up in the Air, but I understand why people would like this film. If we ignore the director's intention of making a thought-provoking movie about much-delayed male adolescence, and instead view it as a lighthearted comedy in the vein of Thank You for Smoking (another movie written and directed by Mr Reitman that I actually adored), then it can be enjoyable. If, however, we try to view the film as an effort to induce self-reflection in people disconnected from those they love, and indeed the emotion itself, we would be sorely disappointed.