Up In The Air

Jason Reitman is certainly proving himself to be a brilliant director and writer as well. It maybe because he is the son of a highly respected director that he needs to prove himself more. So far he has certainly done that and does it once again.

I'll begin by saying that I'm not completely convinced of the concept of this film. A company hiring someone to do their downsizing for them sounds a little bit silly and a waste of money to me. So while I had a bit of trouble with that aspect I still thought this was a brilliant film. The film is about the portrait of a man who has cut himself off from society in an unusual way and meets two women who change his perspective of that isolation. In his previous films Jason was able to take characters that society has programmed us to hate and made them real and human. Here Ryan Bingham is not a character we necessarily hate but we are trained to look down on him because he refuses to conform to society and find a relationship and relate to other people. Instead he is constantly on the move and doing a job where people come to hate him. You come to respect his decision and in some ways understand why he chooses that lifestyle. In some ways the story is a little predictable but as I said this is more about a character than the story. You come to learn and understand a man. The ending however was a little bit of a shock and one of the most heartbreaking moments in film I've seen in a while.

I think George Clooney is one of the best actors working today. He not only gives excellent performances but he is also an excellent writer, director and producer. I also resepct the decisions he makes when choosing the films he does. Many say that he is basically playing himself in this film and while that might be true he does it brilliantly. George is able to move from light hearted moments to emotional ones with the greatest of ease that he is a joy to watch. This is by far one of his greatest performances. Vera Farmiga is an excellent actress who we see not just in studio films but smaller budget indies. Here she is existentially playing a female version of George Clooney's character and does an excellent job. The two of them play off each other so wonderfully. This is a wonderful breakout role for actress Anna Kendrick. She is able to play the young confident go-getter who also has a soft vulnerable side when she comes to realise how tough the job she is doing is. There is also a wonderful supporting cast made up of some of Jason's friends.

A brilliant film that I cannot recommend highly enough. A brilliant character study of a man in an unusual job. I predict that George Clooney will get the Best Actor Oscar for this film. Make sure you go see it to see why he deserves it.