That was an excellent one.

Overrated

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Each aspect could be defined as special. from performances and fine chemistry between the characters of Vera Farmiga and George Clooney, to the status of simple, convincing and cruel for its deep honesty, story about life. a film about solitude. and need of the other. and prices of succes. and freedom. and love. and about different levels of reality. short, a great movie.

After watching this film multiple times, I decided to write a review. It is a film that works on so many levels. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, who has the unusual service assignment of terminating people employed by other companies. (For a long time, I thought this was a service that did not exist in the real world until I was an African safari and met two gentleman who delivered this kind of service in South Africa.)The title has a double meaning: Bingham is in the air virtually the entire year and has no significant connection to his residence. He has accumulated all his travel miles on American Airlines and he stays only in Hilton Hotels, so he has all sorts of privileges that only an elite handful of travelers ever achieve with these travel service providers. So, he is literally "up in the air" in the course of doing his job.However, he is "up in the air" metaphorically. He has no roots to any community. He has an affair with a fellow frequent traveler, extremely well played by Vera Farmiga. He has no long-term, serious relationship, even with his own sisters. In fact, one of the great pieces of acting comes when Clooney/Bingham has to figure out how to coax his sister's fiancé to go through with the wedding. Clooney/Bingham finds this exceptionally difficult to do because he has never been close to having a relationship that would lead to marriage. The most interesting part of the film is the juxtaposition of Clooney/Bingham's status as a receiver of very generous "loyalty" rewards with the role he plays in denying employees of many companies the reward for the loyalty they have shown to their organizations. He gets extra-special treatment, especially from American Airlines, but the employees who have given the best 30 years of their lives to their companies are brutally ushered out the door. To me, this is the most thought-provoking and unique part of the film. This is not a remake of a 1940's or 1950's film, or even a 1980's film, because the sophisticated rewards programs from which the Clooney/Bingham character benefits did not exist. In fact, they were just being introduced into the marketplace in the early 1980's. There are other great performances and subplots, including the mentoring relationship Clooney/Bingham has with a young professional very well played by Anna Kendrick. Jason Bateman seems quite authentic as Bingham's ultimate boss.However, the center of gravity of the film is the character George Clooney plays, as only he can play it, and the many ways in which he presents a complex, multi-dimensional portrayal of someone who is "up in the air."

Up in the Air follows Ryan Binham (George Clooney) as he is sent to offices to fire their workers. George Clooney gives a wonderful performance as he dwells into the loneliness of his character. Also, Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga give their Oscar worthy performances as Natalie Keener and Alex Goran respectively. The cast is rounded out by memorable performances from Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott, Danny McBride, and Zach Galifanakis.One of the other reasons why this film is one of Reitman's best is the personal nature of the story. Reitman used clips of real people being actually fired, and this helps add to the sincerity of the film. One of the most memorable aspects of the film is the theme of friendship and family. The fired workers talked about how their friends and family helped them through the tough time, and even Bingham himself admitted his most important moments in life included other people.

He lives in Nowhere Land, all fun, and adventure. He meets women, all in Nowhere Land. But this time it feels different. He is planning to extend the relationship and makes it to a Somewhere Land with her. Once he has sorted out all that within, he walks to her door to find that she has already a Somewhere Land; and doesn't need him anywhere except in their Nowhere Land adventure!