"Up in the Air" Review

            Jason Reitman is quickly proving himself to be a modern master. His movies are painted with a simple elegance that doesn’t detract from the strong messages conveyed, and each of his last three films has done this better than the last, which is saying something since Thank You For Smoking set the bar quite high, and Juno raised it even higher.  And now, Up in the Air has accepted the expectations presented by his previous movies and blown them away.

            Set in modern America, Up In The Air is a timely piece about the pain of loss and the hope of new beginnings. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) plays a man who spends three-hundred plus days a year flying around the country laying people off for companies that do not want to do so themselves. His job leaves him with neither friends nor a home, and with a desire for neither until he is joined by his company’s newest employee, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) – a naïve twenty-something who thinks the world is bright and boundless, and finds burgeoning love interest in a fellow traveler, Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga). These women give Ryan hope of a life outside of the solitary sky.

            Each of these characters is turned human and given real depth in the script. There are no cardboard cutout characters (though there are cardboard cutouts). Reitman has a simple and elegant touch in both his writing and directing. Images and dialogue blend together to paint an endearingly simple world with the concealed depth of a haiku. The pace is neither too slow nor too fast, but deliberate and controlled, two words not often used in a world full of schizophrenic jump-cuts. Up in the Air once again proves Reitman’s ability to blend comedy with truth, making the audience laugh even as they question. And all of his skill in directing is supplemented by brilliant acting. Indeed, George Clooney plays the part as if it was written for him (what’s that, it was?).

            Ultimately, though, this movie is not about destination, but about the possibilities of a journey not yet complete, a journey that is yet filled with hope. Ryan is chasing down the goal of ten million frequent flyer miles, the proverbial carrot at the end of the stick that parallels the hope he offers to every person he fires: that this is not an end, but a new beginning. However, Reitman tactfully avoids the trap of a naïve child’s fairy-tale, because, as Ryan states it, quite early on in the movie, “The miles are the goal.” Put another way, there is no necessary reward, no promised happiness at the end of the tunnel. Instead, Reitman offers the antithesis of self-discovery through loss.

            Up in the Air is a modern masterpiece (and I try not to use this word lightly), and one of my favorite movies of the year. The movie subtly combines social commentary with strong character performances, and does so in a way that’s entertaining and controlled. And perhaps that is what I am most impressed by, Reitman’s control and restraint. There are so many opportunities in the movie for messages to be shoved down the audience’s throat, but Reitman restrains himself. The messages are presented early and woven tactfully throughout the plot, touched on in a bit of dialogue here, an image over there. Up in the Air is subtle yet urgent; Reitman proves himself to be flying through a pedestrian world.