Increasingly of late, I find myself walking out of films with a single question, “Did I enjoy it?”, and as I exited ‘Up in the Air’ in the heat of Saturday afternoon, I found that this film, already holding rave reviews and recommendations for Best Picture, to be no exception.
While trailers led a friend of mine to believe that it was a romantic comedy, and myself to believe that it was a philosophical look at the choices that lead to love, the film is in fact neither. Ryan Bingham, (Clooney) is a guy who is employed by a human resources consultancy to travel around the country, firing people.
In theory, Ryan gets called in because he has the skill and knowledge to support people on their ‘rebirth’ into their next place of employment, but truthfully, he’s hired by bosses who are too afraid to do the firing themselves. It seems a miserable ask, but Ryan loves his job. He loves the lack of responsibility, he loves the lack of baggage, he loves the forced greetings from hostesses and he prides himself on the earned (through frequent flier miles) respect. He also loves the no-strings affair that he is having with Alex (Farmiga), who has the same uncomplicated needs as him: “Think of me as you, but with a vagina.”
Of course, things get complicated; he has messy family issues with his sisters, and then his own boss (Bateman) introduces him to the spirited young employee Natalie (Kendrick) who has invented new internet-based style of firing, which can be done over a webcam, long-distance, thus making expensive air-travel and Ryan’s wonderfully isolated existence redundant. Craig forces the resentful Ryan to take uptight young Natalie on the road with him, to show her the ropes before the new virtual-sacking techniques are rolled out.
From very early in this film, I had some very specific ideas as to how it would play out. I could see each scene in my mind and was convinced of (and satisfied with) the plot that I expected to unfold before me. And then I had the rug ripped out from under me, and I never really regained my footing.
Away from the plot, let’s start with the fact that Clooney is wonderful in the role; he’s clever, likable, sophisticated and devoid of the slapstick romantic comedy that I’ve seen him take on in the past. His two co-stars, Kendrick and Farmiga cleverly pull off the roles of not-quite daughter and not-quite-wife, and all three are really at their best in a scene in the hotel lounge as the two detached and unconventional ‘parents’ are lectured by their ‘daughter’ on the error of their ways.
The film slaps cliches in the face, and I think that overall, I appreciated it more than I liked it. I respect it, but I did feel that ultimately, it was trying to portray itself as smarter than it was. It was screaming “look at our clever 21st century attitude and realism”, and it distracted me somewhat from the philosophy that the trailer lead me to expect.
So the question…did I enjoy it?
I have no idea.
