Up in the Air

Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. Based on the novel by Walter Kirn. Directed by Jason Reitman.

There are moments in this latest, most-topical film from Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) that will strike a bell (a sad bell to be sure) with viewers who have had the experience of being laid off, let go, downsized, their position eliminated, or however their former employers preferred to sugarcoat it. A certain recognition will flicker as they watch professional corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) deliver the bad news their boss prefers to pay a stranger to deliver, whether it’s the frustrated eyes starting to water, a chair being thrown across the room, an “I don’t believe this shit” auto-response, or a strangely calm “So, where’s the nearest bridge I can throw myself off of?” If any other major star but the ever-suave George Clooney were to play this role, there would be little hope of a viewer, happily employed or not, liking or feeling anything but revulsion and pity for him.

But Clooney is an actor seemingly impossible to hate. Even as the annoying Fantastic Mr. Fox (the wonderfully-animated realization of the Roald Dahl novel by Wes Anderson), you want to take him and slap him, turn him around good but not actually strangle the guy; even as an annoying animated character, you can't help but like the guy. (Wouldn’t it be interesting to see him as a serial killer?) When asked by his future brother-in-law (interesting cast choice Danny McBride) if he’s “good” with being single, childless and not owning nor moving towards owning a home, he replies, “I’m good” and it’s Clooney’s smooth manner that makes us almost believe him.

So when a young upstart in his company (the bright Anna Kendrick) proposes firing people by teleconference to increase efficiency, thereby threatening Bingham’s seemingly care-free lifestyle and goal of obtaining a ridiculous number of frequent flier miles, viewers may find themselves feeling a certain amount of sadness for this very unanchored middle-aged man. And to the film’s credit, he doesn’t get let off the hook. When it appears he might actually make a connection with a fellow free spirit (Vera Farmiga), that carpet is pulled out from under him most brutally, in the film’s only truly surprising moment, leaving him once again alone, only now actually feeling it. But he is back up in the air.

If the topic weren’t so of the moment, the film might well come across as crassly manipulative. And indeed some of the scenes of the firings do feel a little too manufactured, with the exception of one outstanding scene involving an older man who reacts to his teleconference firing by breaking down and crying. That that particular scene has a certain power to it attests to a basic premise that Bingham, to his credit, has always professed: that firing someone is in fact a delicate situation best handled by someone, like himself, who can read people and steer them, however falsely, to buying into a positive spin on their “new lease on life.” The positive spin here is to convince the poor cad that this may be his/her last chance to pursue that dream they once had but that got buried under a regular paycheck and Christmas bonuses. That Bingham believes he is truly helping those employees and the fact that, compared to the teleconference method he is, creates a complex, interesting character.

Still, for anyone who has actually been (recently) fired, it may be hard to shake the fact that this is George Clooney, rich and famous movie actor. An unknown actor, with the necessary gravitas and charisma, might have given the film more weight. But then again, without Clooney, would people have flocked to it? At any rate, having one of the fired employees played by recognizable character actor J.K. Simmons (Juno), when others are reportedly “real” people who got axed in real life, is distracting and compromises the film’s intention of integrity. 3 out of 5 stars.

Mike Fishman