Up in the Air

What a fantastic movie, certainly top of my 2009 list so far (On catch up duty though.)

Reitman is a fantastic writer and director, the script here just bristles with great dialogue and the quiet awkwardness of the intimate moments, the scene where Clooney's Bingham first meets Farminga's Alex for instance is an instant classic, the zingy innuendo wordplay between the two strikes up a chemistry that makes you invest in two people who are on the surface shallow as a paddling pool.

Clooney is at his best here playing corporate assassin and serial loner Ryan Bingham, ok so he doesn't kill anyone but he is the hitman sent in to fire employees bosses don't want to face, and Reitman plays on this with the first scene we see of Clooney packing his travelling bag, folding and clipping everything into place, all shot like those scenes you see in action movies with assassins preparing their weapons. The usual Clooney touchstones (Self effacing charm bordering on smugness crossed with doe eyed everyman) are there but he invests Bingham with a world weary empathy that makes you root for him and feel for him when the movies kick in the nuts twist comes into play.

The film is essentially an age old tale of "finding yourself" mixed in with the many questions people ask themselves regarding life, love and relationships, but instead of being cliched or dull it is the opposite, the situations and questions are presented through entertaining and likable characters that you take this journey with all set against the frothy backdrop of high end air travel.

The key to the films success is the two main relationships Bingham has, one with fellow travel jockey Alex (Vera Farminga) and one with young trainee sacker Natalie (Anna Kendrick), the relationship with Alex is the movies heart and it's fun, the chemistry between Clooney and Farminga is feisty but tender and it awakeness some of Bingham's lost humanity. The relationship with Natalie is more like a student/teacher one in the beginning but Bingham finds out some home truths from his slightly neurotic young side kick. The thing that makes both relationships work is that the dialogue is sparky and enteratining, the banter crisp and engaging BUT it also comes with depth and a message just layered in there like subtle jabs so that you get the movies point without feeling smothered by it.

If you are looking for a thrill ride this isn't it, but if you are looking for a warm, funny non linear comedy cum character drama that allows you to think rather than spoon feed you and give you easy answers, then this is as good as it gets.

9.5/10