My wife, Maria, described Up in the Air as a very well put-together movie. That about sums it up. And she’s totally right, of course.
Up in the Air is essentially a film about a traveling salesman. Ryan Bingham, played expertly by George Clooney, is a businessman who’s job it is to travel around the world firing people. He’s hired to fire, and he makes a living doing it. In fact, he loves doing it. Bingham loves the experience of flying, staying in hotels, eating out, and wracking up air miles. It’s his passion; living alone, isolated, is his credo. His philosophy. It’s interesting, seeing someone living their life like that. It is. Up in the Air is a movie about Ryan Bingham, and it’s very well done.
Up in the Air doesn’t fit neatly into any genre, which is nice. It’s a funny movie, but at the same time it’s very thoughtful and avoids stereotypes and clichés. I say the film is about Ryan Bingham because I think that’s important. There are supporting characters, sure, and they’re important but they never become too important. The movie revolves, ultimately, around its main character. We get into his head, we live like him, and we learn with him—his philosophies unravel before our eyes, we lose as he loses. The cast of supporting characters come and go in a way that is interesting, and poetic. Bingham’s associates, his friends, are ultimately like his lifestyle: transient, temporary, always changing. Of course, with both Anna Kendrick and Vera Farminga nominated for Best Supporting Actress this film isn’t merely the George Clooney show—there’s tons of talent.
And that really makes the movie. An interesting, engaging and unpredictable plot acted out by a wonderful and talented cast makes for what is ultimately a great story. It didn’t win Best Picture, and for that I’m not surprised. It was a great movie, but it couldn’t compete with the kind of breakthrough film that The Hurt Locker was, or even my pick, Precious. Still, Up in the Air, like Maria said, is simply a very well put-together film. It doesn’t stray too far from the conventional, but it’s anything but mundane. My suggestion? You should see it.
[...] and true stereotypes. While I wouldn’t call it well-developed or complete like a film like Up in the Air, it did resist taking the easy way out, all the way to the end. Of course, assembling an on-screen [...]