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RATING:  
SINGAPORE : Much has been made about how "Up In The Air" is a film for our times. Critics are raving and an abundance of writing accolades are streaming in. But, does Jason Reitman's much-hyped existentialism-lite thesis deserve all the kudos it's been getting? That would be a resounding yes.
Helmed and co-written by the young director with two wicked films ("Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking") under his belt, "Up In The Air" introduces us to charming anti-hero Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), whose entire job is to fire employees in companies all across America. That is until his bubble bursts.
Adapted from Walter Kirn's novel, Reitman's writing, with fellow scribe Sheldon Turner, is crisp, unaffected and droll, with an unexpectedly healthy balance of cynicism and optimism. His deft hand at making words work on the screen subtly creeps into our consciousness as we start to pity Ryan - a man we so expected to hate.
Then again, it is Clooney we're dealing with. Let's be honest, who else could have played a non-committal, self-assured and, essentially, empty, downsizing expert to a strangely endearing perfection?
The talented, beyond-luminous Vera Farmiga - up for an Oscar for her supporting turn as Ryan's fellow frequent flyer - gives Clooney's performance a real sense of vulnerability we sometimes forget he actually has.
"Twilight's" Anna Kendrick as the just-out-of-college, over-assured newbie who implements a plan to ground all employees for better efficiency, unexpectedly more than holds her own. She delivers competently (if a little short of her own supporting Oscar nod) as her character's initial confidence begins to slowly come undone.
Some might argue that the film simply pays lip-service to social trends, ending up with a disappointingly conventional comeuppance and epiphany. But the authenticity of its bittersweet conclusion more than makes up for it.
Perhaps it's Reitman's serio-comic take that makes the film uncommonly breezy without disregarding the sobering realities. Or perhaps it's the move to use real-life fired employees to play the workers being laid off that moves and affects with heartbreaking results.
Whatever it may be, "Up In The Air" is among one of the year's sharpest-written films.
- TODAY/il
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