That’s right, you guessed it, Oscar cramming continues! Last weekend, we went to go see Up in the Air, one of the Oscar nominated pictures. I had very low expectations for this, I wasn’t particularly interested in it by the previews, and I don’t know too many people who have seen it who were pumping it up for me. I have to say I was kind of blown away. Don’t you love that, when you walk in to a theater, not sure of what to expect, and you leave pleasantly surprised with your experience.
George Clooney, plays Ryan Bingham, a high level executive at a firm that is brought in to struggling companies to lay off their employees. He travels 300+ days out of the year, and prides himself on his travel efficiency. Early on in the film two things happen, he begins a flirty relationship with Alex, a woman who travels almost as much as he does. They connect as they compare their “travel cards”. In addition, Natalie Keener, an upcoming 20-something just out of college, has joined Ryan’s firm and she has big ideas as to how they can save money on overhead by conducting their business via video conferencing. Ryan’s life is simultaneously turned upside down as he finds himself in a relationship (with Alex) that he enjoys so much he considers possibly giving up his non-commital bachelor ways and at the same time his lifestyle (which defines him) is being threatened.
To be honest, I thought this was George Clooney’s most poignant film yet. It touched on a lot of issues:
1) – Being laid off and how helpless that feels in many instances. You watch these testimonials of people who are upset, depressed, not-understanding, of what is going on as they get laid off. Thinking of all of the American’s who have gone through this in the past year, made it sometimes hard to watch.
2) – Technological Connections vs. Personal Connections. I felt this movie really delved into a lot of the generational issues that are arising as technology moves at such a fast pace changing the way that people forge or maintain relationships. Ryan is so non-commital, constantly on the move, doesn’t really have a home, has no real relationshp with his family, and is not in a committed relationship with a woman; yet the thing that he fights for most in his job is this need to be there for these people as he fires them. He feels that the connection they make with the employees as they let them go is really important and isn’t something that can be done via video conferencing. It kind of goes against everything he is to his core. In his personal life he doesn’t have a lot of personal connections, yet in his job, he feels that that the personal connections he forges are what make him so good at what he does.
I found this particular thread really interesting, as it really stood out to me how my generation and even those after me use technology (twitter, blogs, facebook, email, text messaging, instant messaging) to keep in touch and forge personal connections. Are we losing those personal connections that the generations before us had? If so, how then is community defined? Are we all moving communities to an online, virtual world instead of sitting out on stoops and swapping stories in person or are we balancing those two worlds and combinging them in a positive way? This is something I find very interesting. Anyway, this is feeling like a tangent….back to the movie now.
3 – Generational Aspects. This kind of ties into what I was getting at with my 2nd point, but taking it even further, I thought it was really interesting in this one particular scene where 20-something Natalie is talking to 30 or 40-something Alex & Ryan about love and relationships and just how different the perspective is at 23 vs. say 42.
All in all I thought this was a very subtle, deftly crafted movie that tackles some very large issues in very subtle ways. They built the story with just the right momentum that it never felt forced or cheesy but rather just right. It was also very real, no nice tied up ending leaving everyone feeling happy, it was tough to swallow. I’m one of those people who wants things to be tied up nicely in movies usually, maybe it’s because we know that in real life, that’s unrealistic and we all just want a little hope. However, it was refreshing to see these characters, that became real people, have to deal with the realistic ways of the world just like everyone else.
George Clooney was stellar as Ryan Bingham, but Anna Kendrick really stole the show. In my opinion, it was a breakout performance for her.
I don’t think it’s a movie you need to rush out and see in the theaters, but rent it one day, with no expectations (and no need for a pick me up, becuase this movie certainly won’t provide you that) you might find that you too are pleasantly surprised.
4 1/2 stars
Post in Comments:
What were your thoughts on Up in the Air? What is your favorite George Clooney movie?
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