Climbing Higher Pictures

Coming out of the festival circuit with some of the best reviews I’ve ever seen from a group of the hardest critics to please on the planet, Jason Reitman‘s new film, Up In The Air, is said to be a virtual lock for a best actor and possibly even best picture nominations at this year’s academy awards. George Clooney is getting rave reviews for his role as a firing specialist, hired out to companies to assist in their downsizing efforts, but does the film fly above such lofty expectations?

Up In The Air Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: A+

There are times in our lives when certain aspects of how we feel, who we are, and what we believe in, hinge implicitly on our emotional state. Days seem brighter when we feel alive and happy, and it always seems to rain when we’re particularly sad. In these moments, we are hyper sensitive to everything going on around us. A well-timed joke, a playful activity, an ingenious piece of storytelling can affect us in ways far and beyond what we’d expect from the medium in question. I’d like to think that the power that Up In The Air has stems from its impeccable filmmaking quality. But with a film this good, there is always a secondary reaction, a motivational lightning rod if you will, that will be defined within the mind of every person who makes the choice to view the film. When everything works together this well, from the screenplay, to the art direction, to the acting and the lighting, a certain intangible quality arises from the interaction, a product which rises far and beyond the scope of its individual parts. When a movie “feels” this right, for its entire runtime, you know you’re witnessing something truly special, and though I will try to describe what individual pieces make up the masterpiece that is Up In The Air in the following paragraphs, simply understand that there are reasons far and beyond the work itself which make me consider this my favorite film of the year.

You have to start at the beginning. The screenplay, an adaptation of Walter Kim’s novel (he also wrote the book Thumbsuckers), scripted by Writer/Director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) and Sheldon Turner, is an impassioned argument about the nature of being a man in the modern world. Gone are the necessities of food and shelter, we’ve moved past our hunter/gatherer roots and settled into a societal structure which grinds humanity into an early grave by making us toil away at unsatisfying professions we take simply to pay the mortgage. If our lives were a backpack, you’d be surprised how little you actually care enough about to take with you, and with a character like Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) who is unencumbered by virtually any sense of home or a “grounded” life, we have a case study in how our species has evolved to handle contemporary values.

This brings us to a cast led by a should’ve-won-an-Oscar-for-acting-long-ago actor in his bravest and most wonderful performance yet. In my mind, Clooney is a virtual lock for a best actor trophy this year. However, I’ve been wrong before (last year I thought Mickey Rourke would go all the way), and I may very well be wrong by the time the votes are tallied, though that does nothing to diminish his accomplishments here. In a way it seems that the script emerged in and around all of his strengths as an actor and as a person, allowing him to wear the role like a glove and yet constantly push the boundaries of where the material would allow him to go. Vera Farmiga makes a terrific counterpoint to Clooney’s highflying everyman, as a career woman who sees travel as more of an occupational hazard that she has become accustomed to than something she sees as an opportunity. Their chemistry is extraordinary and almost instantaneous, letting the editor keep the scenes tight and smooth without losing any sense of who these characters are. Anna Kendrick is also a huge surprise here as her prior resume (cough, Twilight, cough) doesn’t exactly denote solid acting ability. Her plucky upstart character is perfectly balanced between annoying and endearing and we relate just as strongly with her struggle as we do with all the other major players. There are plenty more wonderful supporting moments, too many to list and too surprising to spoil here, that you’ll just have to see the film to enjoy, but trust me, they are all worth their screen time.

The direction of the project as a whole is a naturalistic and balanced affair, shot with an eye for character and movement that juxtaposes the cross-country nature of the narrative. The editing maintains the kind of pace you want from a film like this, not too fast to feel stuffed, but never too slow to lose your interest. The music also works incredibly well with the tone of the scenes and helps sell the lighthearted mood, an infectious combination that will leave you smiling for hours afterward. Do yourself a favor, get on the plane, and I know that you’ll enjoy the flight. These kinds of films don’t come around very often, and when they do, we need to make the most of what they have to offer.