Rick’s Picks

By Rick Anderson

When I first saw it in a theater in 2009, I was frankly lukewarm about the George Clooney comedy-drama “Up in the Air.”

While I admired the acting, I had a difficult time getting past the central story element in which the “hero” was a specialist in implementing mass layoffs.

What next, I thought at the time — a drama about an environmental disaster told from the viewpoint of the polluter?

In viewing the film for a second time recently via cable television, I realized that it was essentially a character study in which the Clooney character’s profession was almost irrelevant. While the subject matter might appear timely during these troubled economic times, co-writer and director Jason Reitman also managed the neat trick of making an entertaining movie laced with humor that still never lost sight of the seriousness of unemployment.

Three outstanding performances by the lead actors helped make this a movie worth revisiting. So did Reitman’s innovative choice in filling some of the smaller roles.

Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, who works for an Omaha-based human resources company. He travels the country telling workers in face-to-face interviews that their jobs are being eliminated, acting on behalf of clients unwilling to do the dirty work themselves.

Ryan handles this odious chore with a certain degree of finesse and fake sincerity. In reality, he cares little about the workers and enjoys the lifestyle. His job enables him to spend nine months of the year on the road, where he spends his free time making motivational speeches and hooking up with women for casual assignations.

Largely devoid of emotional commitment to any aspect of his life (he only grudgingly agrees to attend his sister’s wedding, saying “It’s not that I know her that well”), his primary goal is to log 10 million miles in air travel.

Ryan’s comfortable lifestyle is shaken when Natalie Keener (played by Anna Kendrick), a perky newcomer to the human resources firm, suggests the company can save a ton of money by conducting the layoff interviews through videoconferencing.

Their boss (Jason Bateman) agrees, but allows Ryan to take Natalie on one final road trip to show her the ropes.

Reitman and co-writer Sheldon Turner wisely eliminate the possibility of romance blooming between Ryan and Natalie. “He’s old,” she tells her boyfriend within earshot of the bemused Ryan. In fact, the 48-year-old Clooney was exactly twice Kendrick’s age at the time this movie was made.

But a more suitable contender for Ryan’s affections emerges in Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), a mysterious 40-something Chicago businesswoman who also travels frequently.

Viewers might assume that the self-absorbed Ryan will develop a degree of humanity through his interactions with the two women. The screenplay veers in that direction, but Ryan and audience have a a surprise or two in store before this story reaches a rather bittersweet conclusion.

All three leads deservedly received Academy Award nominations, although none of them won.

This might be Clooney’s best performance. His role requires him to be both detached and charismatic. He aces both characteristics.

Kendrick combines her standard loopy charm with vulnerability.

Although her role is smallish, Farmiga might be the cast standout. She plays a mature, intelligent woman who not only accepts but embraces the rules of the road. Her character stands up, even for those aware of a late plot twist.

For a series of critical vignettes in which Ryan and/or Natalie deliver the layoff notices, Reitman hired professional actors (including future Oscar winner J.K. Simmons) to play some of the workers. He also had the inspiration, however, to fill some of those roles with non-professionals who had recently been layoff victims in their own right — and encouraged them to use their own words in reacting to the dismissals.

That gives the film a sense of realism lacking in most Hollywood productions.

This isn’t quite a great movie, in part because too many loose ends are left untied. There are at least a couple of major unanswered questions, for example, about the relationship between Ryan and Alex.

It is somehow appropriate, however, that a film entitled “Up in the Air” would have a few unresolved issues. Even if the subject matter is painful in places, it’s worth a first — or second— look.

Rick Anderson, retired sports editor of The Daily World, now is a contributing columnist. Reach him at rickwrite48@gmail.com.