Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Up in the Air is very relatable


Sure, Jason Reitman's brilliant Up in the Air comes at a time where we are still somewhat in an economic downturn and people are still being laid off but for me, when I watched this movie, I felt that this was also a movie about me.

Like George Clooney's Ryan Bingham, I used to travel a lot for my job but I didn't travel as much as Ryan does but I traveled enough to become an expert at airports just like Ryan (although since the Christmas Day plane incident, I don't think the way Ryan travels would work today). I have been in those executive lounges etc... The only thing I haven't done was sit in business class.

Ryan travels a lot for his job because his company's clients hire people like him to do the dirty of work of firing people.

One of the brilliant things that Reitman has done is in those scenes where Clooney is laying these people off, most are played by real people who recently lost their jobs. This is the second part of the movie where I think it is about me. I have been laid off twice and most recently as early as this year because of the economy. When I was first laid off, I definitely had a lot of anger but I didn't say it to the people that let me go's face and I think this was their opportunity to do so. I think Reitman just turned the camera on and just told these people to say what they wanted to say when they were first laid off. It felt real and you could see that it was probably cathartic for them to do.

During one of his travels, Ryan meets Alex (Vera Farmiga) in one of these executive lounges. They instantly connect via their shared frequent flyer lifestyle and start comparing their loyalty cards. Soon they embark on a casual relationship.

Back at work, Ryan is about to lose the road warrior life that he loves (but at the same time has made him a solitary figure and estranged from his family) because of an up and comer at his company called Natalie (Anna Kendrick) who wants to start firing people via video conference calls.

Before he does get grounded and to teach Natalie the ropes, he takes her along so she can see what he does in person.

One of the scenes that I particularly related to was when Natalie and Ryan meet up with Alex in Miami they crash the party for the tech conference held at the hotel. What I relate to as a tech journalist is I've been to many of these and I can attest that they can be that fun!

Clooney is perfect as Ryan. You can see that he loves this lifestyle but at the same time you feel that he does yearn for a more settled life especially when he goes to his sister's wedding (Melanie Lynskey). Farmiga is also winning as Ryan's love interest. She is playful and sexy when interacting with Clooney.

Kendrick is also great. Mostly known as Jessica Stanley from the Twilight series, Kendrick shows great range as an actress as you see the emotional toil it takes on someone who fires people for a living but at the same time she shows great comedic timing in her scenes with Clooney.

As I was watching this movie, I felt that I connected to the story on a personal level and the movie does capture the emotions of losing one's job right on the head. While a great movie, I do hope that most people don't know what it feels like to lose their job but the sad thing is, I don't think that will happen.

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