Up in the Air

**** Stars

There is a moment in the most timely film of the year, Up in the Air, where George Clooney, playing a man who fires people on the road for a living, gets up and makes an annual speech about the physical act of moving. "Make no mistake, moving is living" he says, with that jaunty grin that proves just how much of a movie star he really is. He plays Ryan Bingham, a man whose life is his job. He fires people, but his life consists of living up in the air and on the road. He travels all over the country, building up enough flyer miles to earn himself gold status for the rest of his life. That is until his work decides to ground him after creating a new way of firing people. How? Yes, you guessed it. Over the Internet.

Ah yes, imagine a typical day at your job. In today's world (meaning with the economy in the shitter) everyone naturally has a fear of being fired. Then you get sent into a room and are ordered to stare into a computer monitor. From there, someone will come on and fire you as gently (aka as mean) as possible. Not only are you getting fired, but no one even had the decency to look you in the eye. Welcome to the suck, I'd say.

Obviously Ryan Bingham hates this new system. One because he believes that there is an art to how he does his business, and two because that would mean he would have to go home. Home to an empty apartment, an empty refrigerator, and an empty life. In a desperate attempt to get back up in the air, he agrees to take newcomer Natalie, played by Anna Kendrick (keep an eye out for this true talent) and creator of this new way of firing people with him on the road to experience what it's really like to fire someone. Face to face.

Hmm, time for old Clooney to have some fun. Fun both professionally and sexually. Yes, on the road, Ryan Bingham bumps into a love interest named Alex (played wonderfully by Vera Farminga), both of whom get aroused by the very thought of how many gold member and credit cards each one has. They hook up a few times, until Ryan starts to feel something. Is he in love? Is he ready to ground himself at his home in Omaha, Nebraska to start a life of love with Alex?

Well, I was surprised while watching this splendid piece of cinema that none of these questions have anything to do with what the film is really about. It definitely has the witty charm and familiar humor of a romantic-comedy, but it avoids every single cliche in the book. Clooney gives the performance of his career in one of 2009's best offerings, a movie whose time and tone are perfectly aligned. This is Jason Reitman's third feature (Thank You for Smoking, Juno) and his best work to date. If there is one film out there that can be considered a lock for Best Picture, look no further. Up in the Air is a moving ode to life. And make no mistake, moving is living.