| Based on the novel by Walter Kirn, the film Up in the Air with George Clooney playing the starring part of corporation's downsizing expert Ryan Bingham focuses on the complexity of interpersonal relationships.
Ryan Bingham is employed to help ease the layoff of long-term employees across the United States. He takes his responsibilities very seriously and is excited about the 290 days he is going to spend away from home. Still, within this time his world undergoes drastic changes. On the way, both he and his college graduate colleague Natalie played by A. Kendrick realize that they lack many important things in their lives and have to learn how to turn into better people.
Clooney's Mr Bingham is a lonesome businessman whose private life is made up by random dates with attractive girls at countless airports where he is a frequent visitor. His wallet overloaded with plastic cards from airlines that accumulate his mileage, hotel status perk cards which let him avoid encountering displeased travellers and more straight to the front. Uninvolved in the life of family and relatives, Ryan is the brother who exists but cannot be relied on. His job has become his family. He reckons whether he should, or really wants to, attend his sister's wedding – the little girl whose life he should have been involved with after the death of their father.
The film contains a great many plot and sequences that should to be watched fresh to have a better understanding of the film. What you may initially think is a witty comedy telling about a supercilious guy who eventually becomes a nice man unafraid to show his feelings and emotions is actually a mixture of both comedy and drama.
G. Clooney gives a brilliant performance and makes his character very true-to-life. He seems to experience all the emotions of his character when playing both the arrogant workaholic obsessed by his job and career prospects and the vulnerable romantic able to demonstrate genuine feelings of affection and compassion to people around. The evolution he undergoes throughout the film is interesting to trace and makes you think about the genuine values of human life. |
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