Up in the Air begins with interviews with individuals reacting to their being let go. Shock and anger are understandably expressed. What adds poignancy (not to mention universality) to these interviews, however, is the hopelessness reiterated by several subjects, that common yet frightening feeling of simply not knowing what to do. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking, Juno), in an attempt to bring authenticity to the film, used recently unemployed individuals for these scenes, luring them in under the pretence of making a documentary about job loss. Kevin Renick, an unemployed proofreader from Saint Louis, sent Reitman a tape of his music a few years ago. Reitman ended up using Renick’s song, ‘Up in the Air’, for the closing credits. While these details lend the film an air of legitimacy, Hollywood is perhaps not properly suited to address the realities of the recent financial unravel (one reason being that the Hollywood film industry was left unscathed by the market collapse and has actually been flourishing). So while it would appear Up in the Air was released at the right time, the film’s ‘relevance’ might be considered opportunistic. There is little doubt that its topicality is partially what has elicited such enthusiastic responses from critics and audiences.
The film centres on Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) whose job is to fire people. Hired out by large companies, Ryan flies to major cities throughout the United States to sack employees, thus relieving bosses around the country of the difficult task. Living in a ‘cocoon of self-banishment’ as his young co-worker puts it, Ryan has neither friend nor girlfriend and is totally happy about it. In fact, when not firing others, he gives seminars encouraging a life without ‘baggage’. Flying over 300 days a year, his life is one of hotels and airports. Yet he likes that he can fit his entire life into one carry-on suitcase.
This seemingly bleak setup is offset by frequent comedic moments, thanks largely to Vera Farmiga (The Departed) and Anna Kendrick (Twilight), who more than manage to hold their own against the predictably confident and charming Clooney. I guess it’s been done too many times though, because the “lonely aging man” trope seems especially tired here. Also, the whole “Hero who doesn’t get what he wants in the end” arc doesn’t quite satisfy anymore. Throughout, the feeling of having seen this film before was unshakable, although Reitman’s screenplay (co-written with Sheldon Turner), to its credit offers us more than just a few clever lines. Up in the Air also shares other characteristics of ‘good movies’: precise framing, the occasional voice-over, and so on. As such, we overlook the film’s more conventional elements (the hero’s sister’s fiancé has to get cold feet on the wedding day so the hero can save the day; the too-good-to-be-true love interest has to be revealed as having a husband and kids).
It’s hard to get really excited about a movie like Up in the Air. There’s plenty to like and little to dislike. But it’s just what the world doesn’t need: another pretty good movie. While watching, you get the impression that this is a movie your parents would really enjoy/appreciate. But Jason Reitman remains an interesting case as perhaps the most successful amongst his peers at bridging the gap between the mainstream and the ‘art house’. He inflects these major productions with ‘indie’ quirks, which give his films an ‘edge’ and ‘crossover potential’. You might reconcile all this by calling Up in the Air an ‘art house’ movie for people who do not typically watch ‘art house’ movies.
