Review: Up In The Air

Review: Up In The Air

Rating: ****

Nonna's Rating: $$$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

The ads for this film seem to intimate that it's a romantic comedy. Don't believe it. It's seriocomic; it's a dramedy -- maybe -- but it's most definitely not a romantic comedy. The three principal actors are stunning in their roles. George Clooney completely redeems himself from the biggest mistake of his career: The Men Who Stare At Goats. He reminded me of the mature Cary Grant, so adept at conveying subtle emotions in spite of his beautiful face. Vera Farmiga as Alex, Clooney's love interest, portrays a powerful woman who is always in control --except for one very difficult moment. And Anna Kendrick is a revelation, a tiny, eager bundle of confident energy spoiling for a fall.

In the film, Clooney plays a terminator, spending the majority of his time in airports and airplanes as he travels from corporation to corporation "laying off" and "firing" people to spare the companies the grief. And, as a side business, he delivers business lectures about keeping backpacks light -- not having emotional attachments or commitments or too much stuff. He has an epiphany by the end of the movie, but even that must be reevaluated in light of a couple of smacks upside his head that follow. The director, Juno's Jason Reitman, avoids tying up the end of the film with a nice Hollywood ending. Instead, after having Clooney's character make a couple of life-altering choices, we see him ready to step into the future -- but we have no idea what that future will be. We can only hope.

This is a remarkably adult film for a Hollywood picture with an A-list star. It's funny, entertaining, sad, and jolting. The subtext is the devastating effect the economic downturn has had on millions of workers: those that are fired and those who do the firing.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it