Fans of Jason Reitman's previous two features, Thank You for Smoking and Juno, will be both surprised and reassured by Up in the Air. When the film begins, it seems as if Reitman has merged the business world of Smoking with some of the warmer values in Juno, but within moments it becomes clear that he has sharpened his pen and delved into even more complex and timely psycho-social territory, bound to hit audiences right in the gut.
Based on the novel by Walter Kirn (who also wrote Thumbsucker), Up in the Air offers darkly humorous insights into corporate America and male mid-life crisis. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a “career transition consultant” – essentially someone who fires people for a living. Hired by downsizing firms to make the personal, well, impersonal, Ryan, in his perfectly tailored suits and professionally remote manner, aces the task. Ryan's one real emotional investment is in his mastery of business travel. His goal is to reach that elite echelon of travellers who have achieved the ten-million-mile mark.
One day Ryan's boss, Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman), introduces him to their newest colleague, the aptly named Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who wants to revolutionize the transition industry by using video conferencing out of corporate headquarters. Ryan is horrified, not only because this signals a trivialization of his skills, but also because his travel will stop. He offers to take Natalie on a road trip to show her how to “transition” face to face. As he mentors his new co-worker, he simultaneously juggles rendezvouses with Alex (Vera Farmiga), another business traveller who can match him club card for club card. What begins as a series of hotel hookups with Alex soon develops into something approaching a real relationship, and these emotional stirrings prompt Ryan to view the subjects of his firings in a new light.
While smart, sexy and very funny, Reitman's film is so exquisitely timed, so filled with multi-faceted characters and plot twists, that it perfectly captures the zeitgeist of America's current social and economic turmoil. Clooney's performance exploits his deft comic skills but allows us a peek at the haunted poignancy of a man searching for a soul that he hopes is still there.
Jane Schoettle
Jason Reitman was born in Montreal and grew up in Los Angeles, where he studied creative writing at the University of Southern California. His short film
In God We Trust screened as part of the Festival's Discovery programme in 2000. He has directed the feature films
Thank You for Smoking (05),
Juno (07) and
Up in the Air (09), all of which have screened at the Festival.