‘Up In the Air’ Soars High With Some Turbulence

In many ways Up in the Air, lives up to its namesake; like a plane ride, it sends you flying high, however it’s not always a smooth trip. As a viewer it’s easy to encounter some of the same emotional turbulence the characters experience.

Jason Reitman’s film encourages audiences to feel real emotions, something a lot of Hollywood pictures don’t do anymore. It features footage of normal people, not actors, which lends legitimacy to its poignant economic subject matter. Reitman handles this theme very carefully and tastefully for which he should be lauded.

Much like he does in Thank You for Smoking, Reitman takes a character that has the potential to be very unlikable and makes him sympathetic to the audience.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a jet-setting type who loves traveling the country for work, laying people off at companies where the employers do not have the courage to deliver the news themselves.

A great deal of these layoffs includes middle management employees who have dedicated their lives to their respective occupations. Up in the Air contains taped interviews of these real people reacting to their layoff, which appeals to you in a very human way, giving a face to people who are treated like just another number.

When Bingham actually lays people off in the film however, it is done with actors. In a couple of cases, there are well-known faces making cameo appearances. Jason Reitman exercises great care with Bingham in these moments, showing us that the man isn’t coldhearted. Bingham inspires those he lays off to find new careers by telling them that losing a job isn’t the end but rather an opportunity for a new beginning.

At the heart of Ryan Bingham’s wanderlust is his desire to obtain the holy grail of accolades: 10,000,000 American Airlines Frequent Flyer Miles. All of his travel and spending are influenced by the desire to obtain this magical number.

Bingham’s life on the road is a lonely one for him though; since he spends so much time traveling he’s unable to develop significant relationships with others. He is estranged from his own sisters, who realize that they can’t really count on him for anything.

Emotional isolation and separation from attachment is something Bingham believes has been vital to success in his career. He works part-time as motivation speaker, extolling the virtues of a symbolic backpack free of the weight of others.

Ryan’s life is thrown completely into disarray through meeting two different women: Alex (Vera Farmiga), a fast-paced business woman and Natalie (Anna Kendrick), a fresh-faced employee at his company with some wild new ideas. Meeting Alex on the road gives Ryan something to look forward to and a sense of companionship. Natalie, on the other hand threatens his entire way of life.

Natalie’s radical new idea to save the company money, is to have its employees lay people off via webcam instead of in person. Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman), Ryan and Natalie’s boss, commands Ryan to hit the road with Natalie so that he can show her the ropes, a chance Ryan uses to display the advantages of face-to-face contact. Having Natalie along for the ride interferes slightly with his ability to spend intimate time with Alex, but Natalie’s youthful energy and optimism teach the stodgy Bingham a thing or two about the selfish error of his ways.

Her naivety leads her to some heartache and pain, but another amazing aspect of her relationship with Ryan, is that it helps bring out a sensitive, caring side of him. He falls into the role of mentor, providing her with advice and encouraging her to keep going when she’s feeling beaten up.

His developing attachment to Alex helps Ryan reconnect with his family in time for his sister’s wedding and coaxes him out of his shell of isolation. Without giving away any spoilers, it’s important to note that Alex significantly challenges his newly acquired self. Bingham hits a low point, which as a viewer is hard to experience, because you feel for him very deeply. Through these moments of soul-searching Ryan comes to realize that love, although great, has the ability to heal wounds as well as to open new ones.

In a time when you might be tight for cash, if you could pick one movie to see this holiday season I highly recommend spending money on this one. While it’s not always the most upbeat picture, its real people and emotions lend an unshakable legitimacy to this story.

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