“Up in the Air”, based on Walter Kirn's novel of the same name, is one of those movies that make you leave the cinema hall with a smile on your face, but still leave you wishing for a better ending. Jason Reitman, one of the best filmmakers of our times, who gave us hits like “Thank You for Smoking”, and “Juno” doesn't fail to impress with “Up in the Air” — a movie loaded with excellent screenplay, remarkable performances, witty dialogues, but still flawed.
The story revolves around Ryan Bingham, whose job has him travelling around America firing people, and lives his life out of a suitcase, with no expectations of coming home sooner or having a family.
Life takes a turn, when his company opts for firing people through the Internet, which defeats the purpose of travelling, and which Ryan believes, was the best part of his job.
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In the second half, Clooney shows us a side he'd so far not shown in the first half of the film — vulnerability. His search for a casual relationship with a woman with a mindset similar to his, ends in vain. But he plays the perfect workaholic, married to his job, afraid of commitment, and dreads meeting his family. Anna Kendrick does a remarkable job, playing a trainee, who is humane and compassionate, and an exact opposite of Ryan, who is cold and methodical. Vera Farmiga does well, playing Clooney's love interest, who is beautiful and ugly at the same time.
Jason Bateman doesn't have much to do, but manages his part well. Overall, the movie's worth a watch, but only once.
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Bottomline: This movie works only if you ignore the hype and go in with zero expectations. It'll work anyway if you're a hardcore Clooney fan.
DIVYA KARTHIKEYAN, XI, Vidyodaya Matriculation Academy