In my humble opinion, George Clooney, with a few winks and well-timed smirks, could charm the world into appointing him dictator of the universe. There seems to be an unwritten law somewhere stating that George Clooney always has to play a cocky, suave, roguishly handsome character (even in nonhuman form like “Fantastic Mr. Fox”). And it works. His performances are irresistibly witty and devilishly gallant, making him impossible not to like.
“Up in the Air” (2009) capitalizes on George Clooney’s reputation, using his charm as a mask, a distraction from the despicable nature of his character. In the film, Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert whose job is to fly around the country firing people. He has no time for relationships, spending over 300 days on the road or in an airplane. But that doesn’t bother him. He loves traveling, and relishes the idea of becoming the seventh and youngest person ever to accumulate 10 million air miles. However, he begins to reexamine his life when he meets Alex Goan (Vera Farmiga: “Source Code”), a frequently traveling businesswoman, and is forced to bring Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick: “Pitch Perfect”), a recently hired college graduate, with him on his flights after she proposes the company shifts to firing people via computer.
What makes “Up in the Air” such a great film is that it makes the audience forget what a terrible person Ryan Bingham is. His livelihood comes at the expense of others, but the fact that he is the figurehead for disrupting so many people’s lives is pushed aside underneath the witty comedy and the exhilaration of blossoming romance. He spends evenings in luxurious hotel rooms and his days staring out at beautiful scenery from an airplane window. He is amiable to everyone and all respond with a bright smile.
But the reality is that Bingham is a borderline sociopath, seemingly unaffected by the consequences of his occupation and more intent upon his personal accolades (the 10 million miles) then he is about the individuals he fires. As he says Natalie Keener: “We are here to make limbo tolerable, to ferry wounded souls across the river of dread until the point where hope is dimly visible. And then stop the boat, shove them in the water and make them swim.”
Bingham speaks in politically incorrect truths and snarky cynicism. He offers the people he fires little solace with cliché words on “new opportunities” along with self-help pamphlets. The closest he gets to true comfort is with one displaced worker, to whom Bingham asks: “How much did they pay you to give up on your dreams? At what point were you going to stop and go back to what made you happy?”
The film is light-hearted until it’s not. Which sounds like a contradiction, but it’s the best description of what “Up in the Air” is. It’s a film that distracts the audience with humorous dialogue and brilliant acting, but understands precisely the kind of characters that are portrayed. They are the kind of people who can look people in the eye and tell them that their present way of life is over, and then hop onto a plane and never look back. And despite how many miles one travels, it is impossible to escape the consequences of those actions.
Rating: A- | 3½ stars
