Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Up In the Air

















This movie feels very up to date.  Perhaps it will seem dated in ten minutes.  But for now, watching people not of the company fire people in the company and then leave the cast off with a slick pamphlet to get on with their lives -- yes that is how it feels things are done now.

The whole cast is perfectly selected.  The beautiful mature woman who can match the gamesmanship of the man's need to be first in number of credit cards, she is perfect.  The young woman who threatens to replace Bingham not just with her younger less expensive self but with a whole system that does not require flying, she is perfect.  Callow, shallow, all surface.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham who fires people for a living.  And he lives for the loyalty rewards that frequent flying affords.  Are frequent flier miles really the only place where loyalty is still a value that is honored with rewards? 

Fifteen minutes into the movie, I was aware of how much I was enjoying it.  It is rare to see a movie where everything is done right, from the opening credits, to the opening scene with snappy dialogue, to the introduction of important cast members who act flawlessly and wear their clothes as if they really were their clothes.  The music, the sets, the production, I can't think of another recent American movie that clicks this way.  What a promising career Jason Reitman is having.