Review: UP IN THE AIR

UP IN THE AIR is the latest evidence of George Clooney’s claim to be thought of as the pre-eminent male movie star of his generation. He may not be big box-office in the same way as Will Smith, or an out and out awards magnet, he’s won one Academy Award, for his supporting performance in SYRIANA. He may well win a second for his performance as Ryan Bingham in Jason Reitman’s third film as director – a dramedy about a redundancy consultant living life on the road, or more accurately, up in the air.

Bingham’s job security is threatened (ironically, given the job he does), when a young Harvard graduate (played by THE TWILIGHT SAGA’S Anna Kendrick) comes up with a way of doing his job from a single location, robbing him of the thing he enjoys most about his life, the constant travel replacing any semblance of a home life – exactly the way he wants it.

There are obvious problems with the set-up. We’re supposed to empathise with the glamorous movie star playing a man who travels a lot firing people, rather than the people getting the elbow? Well, I doubt that the film will be able to survive that for much of the audience, but even those who take against it for that reason, would have to admit that it is very slick work, as were JUNO and THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, Reitman’s previous films.

Stylishly shot, and making everything of Clooney’s performance, it’s an impressive, if superficial film. Clooney has amassed a fine body of work over the past thirteen years or so, and his performance here is terrific. He’s very well supported; both by Kendrick and Vera Farmiga, who plays the female counterpoint to his jetsetting lifestyle, but it’s his film. In fact, it’s impossible to imagine anyone else being able to play the part.