Up In The Air

Up in the Air
"Ryan Bingham's job is to fire people from theirs. The anguish, hostility, and despair of his "clients" has left him falsely compassionate, living out of a suitcase, and loving every second of it. When his boss hires arrogant young Natalie, she develops a method of video conferencing that will allow termination without ever leaving the office - essentially threatening the existence Ryan so cherishes. Determined to show the naive girl the error of her logic, Ryan takes her on one of his cross country firing expeditions, but as she starts to realize the disheartening realities of her profession, he begins to see the downfalls to his way of life."

4 stars

I would watch a movie of George Clooney reading the phone book. And I bet I'm not the only one. His charm and likeabilty carries this movie - and that's not bad thing. His character Ryan fires people for a living, and we sympathize him!

The script for the movie is based on a book written back in 2001, mere months before September 11 changed flying forever. Ryan had the same job back then, but it's even more powerful in today's economic climate. And all those people he fires in the movie? With the exception of one or two recognizable actors, they are all real recently laid-off workers.

The firing isn't really what this movie is about, though. It's about people and our connections. Ryan has none (unless you count his assistant) until he meets a fellow (female) jet-setter. Meanwhile, he's schooling young Natalie about life on the road, which has its own effects on him as well as her. It comes to a head (or so you think) at his sister's wedding in his hometown.

The ending is not cookie-cutter, and for someone who ALWAYS sees it coming, I didn't see it coming. It wasn't shocking or out of left field, just different.

Pretty enjoyable.