Up in the Air (2009)

It's been showing up on a lot of Top 10 lists, and now that I've seen it, I can see why: Up in the Air is quite a veer from the usual Hollywood romantic comedy, on a couple of counts.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham a go-getter with a rough job: His company handles layoffs and other terminations for other companies, and Ryan lives on the road as a result. Which he doesn't mind in the least. In fact, Ryan delivers the occasional motivational speech to other road warriors, in which he encourages rootlessness as a way of life. In fact, Ryan can't stand his one-bedroom apartment, which is a run-down version of the hotel rooms he really calls home. But Ryan has a dream: 10 million frequent flier miles. Not for any reward it'll bring him, though there are those; no, for Ryan, it's the thrill of reaching the goal itself.

All's well in Ryan's world until his boss (Jason Bateman, in a dead-on performance as a biz-jargon spewer) brings in a recent Cornell graduate, Natlie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who has some fresh ideas all her own. Ryan and his colleagues are called back to HQ in Omaha to see her presentation, in which she shows how the company can save money—by terminating clients' employees via webcam. That, of course, means Ryan and the other road warriors can stay home rather than racking up hundreds of days in transit. And nothing could derail Ryan's equilibrium more completely.

Meanwhile, Ryan has met a female version of himself: Alex (Vera Farmiga), a savvy and frequent business traveler who connects with Ryan immediately. It's the perfect relationship in Ryan's eyes, and Alex's: no strings, no expectations.

Ryan isn't about to let go of his itinerary so easily. He talks his boss into letting him prove to Natalie that webcams can't do the job the way a real human being can, so they head off to the airport. Along the way, Ryan and Natalie find things changing in unexpected ways, and none of it works out the way I thought it would. To which I say, hallelujah!

Up in the Air is a fine "romcom," but it's a much better movie than that. There are, of course, painfully funny scenes throughout. But there are also painful, poignant scenes of loyal employees getting the bad news about the job that is no longer there. Director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking) cuts through some of these scenes quickly to give us an idea of the span of reactions Ryan faces as part of his job, and Ryan handles each with aplomb. In one prolonged scene, Ryan's human touch is ably displayed as he helps an older employee, Bob (J.K. Simmons, who is as good as usual), find a helpful way to think about what is of course awful news. Talk about a timely subject!

In time, Ryan finds his feelings about work, life, and love changing in unexpected ways, much of culminating at his sister's wedding.

The cast is terrific throughout, but Kendrick and Clooney really shine. Also noteworthy: Danny McBride, in a small role as the groom-to-be, and Amy Morton as Ryan's other sister, Cara, who has basically written Ryan off as an active family member.

One complaint: the music sounds like one long, loooong, annoying folk song. This movie cries out for a good instrumental treatment; instead, we have to endure clumsy lyrics and earnest singing in all the wrong places.

So, ignore the music, because the direction is so assured, the script is so good, the performances so strong, that Up in the Air more than overcomes its limitations. One warning: This is an R-rated movie, so there is a tiny bit of nudity, very adult situations, that sort of thing. It's not for everyone, to be sure, but Up in the Air soars well past its genre formulas to defy expectations at every stop.