Up in the Air (2009)

In 2005, when Jason Reitman’s first film, Thank You for Smoking was released, people dismissed it and asked for another film by his father. Then, five years later, with Ivan Reitman’s film No Strings Attached, they dismissed it and asked for another film by his son. Ivan was one of the best directors out there, but now it’s his son’s turn, with the unseen-by-me Thank You for Smoking, the brilliant Juno, the brilliant Up in the Air, and the unseen-by-me Young Adult. Much like Juno and Young Adult, Up in the Air is definitely not a comedy film. It is more of a drama with some very funny one-liners in it. Almost in a way by Aaron Sorkin, this script is dark, serious, and heartbreaking, but yet I was laughing throughout most of it. The first hour of this film sets up the story, with corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), who goes around the country firing people, with some very funny and inspired scenes having famous people freaking out. But after meeting a girl named Alex (Vera Farmiga) who also constantly travels, and they meet up at their mutual meeting points. Also along for the ride is Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who is trying to get the company Ryan works for to cut costs by giving layoffs by videoconferencing. This greatly upsets Ryan, as he is working to getting ten million miles with American Airlines, a personal goal for him. In order to get that goal, he convinces his boss (Jason Bateman) to let him mentor Natalie by taking her on one last trek cross-country to learn the business. Here we see a character piece about a man who liked being lonely, but also realizes that other people are necessary for life. This brilliant character piece makes you laugh like a hyena, think and consider yourself and all the other people on this planet, and for me at least, cry. In the final act of this film, there are some major gut-punches that you do not expect, some things that really break your heart. But when you watch this movie, stay for the credits. The first song for the credits is a standard song, I just stayed because I needed a minute to fully digest the film. And then, once that song was over, I decided to turn the movie off. Then I heard a message. I’m paraphrasing, so don’t quote me on this, but here’s what was said basically, “Hey Jason. I just got laid off from my job, and I wrote this song, and I was wondering if you could use it in your movie.” Then a song called Up in the Air played, an actually very good song, even though the sound quality wasn’t that great. It is in that moment that you get hit with the entire film, and the truth it brings and the world we’re living in. I broke down and cried, and I never cry in movies. This is the first movie since Forrest Gump to make me lose breath both by laughing and by crying.
9.5/10