Starring: George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga
What’s the fuss about? As we’re in the middle of a recession you’d think a film about people being made redundant wouldn’t do so well, but Up In The Air presses all the right buttons as a timely black comedy. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Not Smoking and Juno) does what he does best by taking a character we shouldn’t relate to and telling a deeply human story.
What’s the story? Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) has made a career out of firing people for a living. He flies around North America delivering bad news to hard-working Americans and counts his air miles like gold stars - his ambition is to reach a million and gain coveted customer loyalty status. Ryan has no responsibility to anyone apart from himself and his employer, so friends and family tend not to get a look in. After years of staying happily airborne and alone for his career, Ryan suddenly finds himself ready to make a real connection, but will it all be too little too late?
Best bit? George Clooney’s such a charmer that he manages to make a man that fires people for a living absolutely loveable. Perhaps this has something to do with the similarities between Bingham’s bachelorism and Clooney’s real life reputation. The film also has an amazing soundtrack, we especially love Sad Brad Smith’s Help Yourself.
Worst bit? We actually left the cinema feeling a little blue, but couldn’t put our finger on exactly why. The film works really well and is thoroughly enjoyable, so don’t let this put you off, but it’s perhaps a bit too close to its character’s human emotion for comfort.
See it with? Preferably not your boss – don’t want them getting any ideas now do we?
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