Written by: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride
Rating: [5/5]
No matter how much some may wish to suppress and not feel emotions, it comes as part of being human in the way we value relationships with others and a general sense of empathy. The few who can fully suppress it can do what gets done in the wonderfully effective Up in the Air. A film unafraid to tackle difficult conversations about the way we connect with each other boasted by a stunning screenplay and actors to sift through these impersonal circumstances with plenty of heart.
Applying his trade specializing in employment-termination assistance for a consultancy firm, Ryan (George Clooney) lives his life out of a suitcase with no real home as he travels from location to location to fulfill his work duties. He offers the services to terminate employees so their clients do not have to get their hands dirty in the process. When a new hire named Natalie (Anna Kendrick) suggests cutting costs by having these termination sessions happen via video conference, Ryan fully disagrees and the pair seek to prove which method works best.
Opening with a series of scenes of Ryan fulfilling his duties in firing people gives this story an abrupt start that lets the audience know exactly what they have in store regarding the harshness of what this film wants to communicate. It presents a job specializing in telling people they no longer have one themselves and as we see with each interaction the individuals share their dismay in different ways. Many were in shock and others displayed massive amounts of anger at how they could so callously be thrown away. A tough job but someone has to do it, which is why Ryan can do this particular dirty work quite well.
One could argue that Ryan presents this job as an art form in the way he communicates the reality of the new circumstance to these employees. Nothing will change in the job status of these laid-off individuals and it becomes Ryan’s duty to not have these individuals completely capitulate and help them agree to accept whatever severance package they may receive. Considering in his free time he dabbles in some occasional inspirational public speaking, the man knows how to communicate and he has mastered his craft, which someone like Natalie views as an old school. The difference in methodology these two share digs into one of the deeper themes the film has to offer about the delivery of communication and how it makes a massive difference in how the receiver takes in what they hear.
What Natalie proposes as a way to save money makes sense when looking at the numbers. In theory, Ryan would deliver the same information to these laid-off employees meaning there’s no reason to actually travel to the location and incur the cost of airfare, lodging, and meals to complete the same task. However, as any person with a soul and general empathy for another can attest, the method of communication matters heavily, especially when the news will change the life of the individual on the other end. It’s why a doctor will not email or text a cancer diagnosis or someone does not seriously propose marriage to another through Instagram DMs. Some conversations must happen in the right setting and Natalie learns this immediately both personally and professionally.
For all of the impersonality Ryan displays throughout this feature, from not having a home or any real relationship of substance with anyone other than his suitcase, at the very least he knows the importance of the correct method of communication. Natalie’s attempt to move into video conferencing these terminations comes as this sterilization of the messiness of human interaction that makes people who they ultimately are and in a sense gives these employees their right to express themselves as they lose an income stream they depend on. Trying to strip that away renders those who decide to engage in this manner nothing more than robots, which the third act of this feature tries to melt away successfully.
Visually, this feature presents this cold and clean aesthetic where we have these characters spending the majority of their time in conference rooms, hotel rooms, and empty spaces with no real personality. It reflects the work they engage in but just the type of person that would live the lifestyle this profession calls for. These spaces zap out the personality of those inhabiting them because they do not allow any expression of it further purporting this perception of cleanliness. We need some dirt and flair to be human and this film does a splendid job displaying this very idea as it deals with characters like Natalie and Ryan battling for their soul as it gets sucked away in the effort to succeed in these positions.
Taking on the lead role we have another effortlessly cool performance put on by George Clooney as Ryan. Clooney has no problem playing a suave character and man does he knock it out of the park here. Mostly emotionless in parts but delivering on it when necessary, he does does a spectacular job in embodying the sterilized persona of this character and how this man could live a life so devoid of emotional attachment and care for others. He gets paired well with Anna Kendrick in her attempt to emulate a similar viewpoint but not thoroughly have what it takes. These two thrive together and deliver on the smaller sprinkles of comedy this feature utilizes to break the tension of the pain caused.
Undoubtedly the best directorial effort by Jason Reitman, Up in the Air pieces together a full exploration of these characters and human empathy all together in one film. It provides an examination of just how far humans can detach themselves from feelings and see others as simply a number and a job that needs to be terminated. A film meticulously lets out bits of emotion when necessary and teases out the real message through the experience of these characters as they can no longer deny they have feelings as much as they want to become robots. A true meal of a movie as it displays this antiseptic loneliness in all of its ugliness.
Films with Josh 
