UP IN THE AIR, George Clooney

Depth and perception in subtle simplicity

The Intro
It's strange how you can sometimes find the coolest of movies in the most unlikely of places. I was mid-way through devouring my nasi padpik and telur dadar in Santai, when the DVD guy approached me, bearing his tray of offerings; the latest movies in pirated DVD technology. Knowing that I'd be a bored old hermit relaxing at home that night, I picked the first movie in the tray with a sexy hot male on the cover and that is how I ended up with Up in the Air the latest flick by George Clooney. :P

The Spoiler
Adapted from the book of the same title by Walter Kirn, and directed by Jason Reitman (of the Juno fame) Up in the Air tells the story of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) a corporate downsizer who travels the country firing employees on behalf of employers who were too big of a chicken to do it themselves.

It may sound completely and utterly depressing to you and me, but Bingham totally enjoyed his job and his care-free life of being constantly "up in the air". So much so that he couldn't imagine living any other way. With his uncanny ability to break the dreaded news in the most diplomatic and encouraging way possible, Bingham was always able to minimise the damage to both the fired individual and their respective employers. He also moonlights as a motivational speaker famous for his 'What is in your backpack? Philosophy', a metaphoric manifestation of his baggage-free existence which he preached time and again to his listeners. During one of his constant travels he met his match in Alex Goran (Vera Farminga), a frequent traveller who also seemed to be married to her work. Soon they began planning their travel schedules around each other to enable them to continue on their commitment-free travel-rendezvous.

Upon his return to the headquarters, Bingham's perfectly ordered and commitment-free existence was knocked into disarray when his boss Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman) announced that soon, all of the "firing squad" will be grounded, thanks to a new technology that enabled termination via video-conferencing from the head office. The new method, introduced by a young and ambitious go-getter Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) promised to save the company a lot in flight and hotel costs of the consultants. As someone who travels over 300 days in a year Bingham was dumbfounded and decided to fight against this decision. During one of the meetings with the boss, he was asked to bring Keener along on his last trip around the country to enable them to see and learn from each other's perspective of doing things. What followed was a series of hilarious and entertaining adventures and revelations that threatened to change Bingham's very beliefs and philosophies.


The Plot Review
Okay so I've babbled on and on and you may think I've sum up the entire movie and thus spoilt it for you. But you thought wrong! Hah! The first two paragraphs were only the beginning of the movie and barely touched on the plot and character development at all. You may also thing that this is a typical rom-com and that you kinda know roughly how the ending is going to be. Again.. you thought wrong. Hah! :P

Up in the Air is more of a dramedy (sounds like a weird and depressing contagious disease eh! :P); which is a thought-provoking drama and entertaining comedy rolled into one, hence the awful-sounding term. With quirky fast-moving dialogues (which reminds me of the rapid fire banter in the Gilmore Girls) and a smooth flowing story line, the movie will capture your attention and also make you examine in greater depth the many philosophies that you may have adopted in life just to lead a comfortable, routine and pain-free existence. I absolutely loved how they can make the story light and entertaining yet profound at the same time; especially the ending where Bingham finally realised that in life you couldn't have it all and that your previous decisions and choices may have a greater impact on your desires than you realise. You cannot win from the bad choices you made (unlike typical rom-com or most movies where you will not necessarily have to pay after a grave mistake/ bad decision) but you can learn from it, move on and do better next time. That is the best lesson you will take away from the movie.

The movie also taught us that sometimes we can sacrifice so many things in our life just to chase one single important dream. Yet when the time comes it may not mean so much to you anymore and you will not be as happy as you thought you would be, probably because you have lost so much along the way in trying to get there. In the movie, Bingham had only one dream, which is to achieve the 10 million mark in his frequent flyer miles. This has only been achieved by six individuals before. The perks of achieving this include having your name emblazoned in platinum plaque on the inside of the plane and the pilot joining you for a chit chat and a drink. During his private moment with the pilot, Bingham who has suffered rejection and disappointment, went even as far as to say,

"You know.. I waited so long for this moment and thought how wonderful it was going to be. But it is not as great as I thought it would be after all."

I know I've felt that way many times and I am so sure many of you can relate. The movie also explored Bingham's relationship with his family when he dropped by for his sister's wedding. There are a few tear jerker moments and a touching ending to this sub-plot that you will really enjoy.


The Acting
As far as the acting goes, when you put a super hunk and charming A-lister like Clooney playing a super hunk charming A-lister character that so resembles Clooney, you are bound to do no wrong. I sincerely believe that Clooney didn't have to do much acting on this one. He just had to flash that super sexy smile, don a Hugo Boss or Armani business suit, act all charming, flirty and a tad vulnerable and voila! he's Ryan Bingham. The best part about this movie is that there aren't that many actors. Just three main cast, (George Clooney, Vera Farminga and Anna Kendrick) one memorable extra (Jason Bateman) and the rest are just extras that added flavour to the movie. Kinda like your ajinomoto. I think both Farminga and Kendrick held their own against Clooney's uber strong super star presence and great acting. I especially loved the part when Alex told Ryan, "I'm exactly like you, except with a vagina," Anna Kendrik's portrayal of Natalie Keener as a feisty, ambitious, driven yet soft and hopelessly romantic was also noteworthy. It's weird how she reminds me so much of myself at 23. Although of course I've never bawled in public to my boss/ colleague after being dumped. Heck I've never even been dumped! :P

The Cinematography and All Those Other Technical Stuff
Since this is not one of those action thriller/sci-fi/ epic kind of movie there is not much to comment on the cinematography, special effects etc (no you don't have to wear a 3D glasses for this one). But do pay close attention to the opening scenes showing Bingham travelling through airport security, baggage check and boarding the plane. The director utilised a series of close up shots in rapid succession which I found to be not only different but also captivating. Combined with the lead character's narrative, it really achieved its purpose of showing Bingham's expert and professional way of travelling, with a touch of corporate class.


My Semi-coherent Conclusion
Unlike the previous movie I reviewed (Philadelphia) this is a very new movie that you can still catch at the cinema. So if you are having one of those stressful days at work, where you feel like you are a complete corporate slave who has presented his mortal soul to The Devil on a silver platter, don't go drown your sorrows in a pub somewhere. Watch this movie instead and come back with a renewed faith and fresh perspective to life.