Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) doesn’t live in his Ohio apartment. No, his home is in the air, blissfully flying from city to city, staying in hotels and doing his best to make sure his whole life can fit in an object no bigger than a backpack. Sure his job as a corporate hitman isn’t for everyone (he fires people for a living) but the perks and privileges it affords him work for his way of life, his goals going no higher then becoming the seventh person to earn 10-million frequent flyer miles.

George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Paramount Pictures' Up in the Air

But everything changes, and after talented newcomer Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) convinces his boss Craig Gregory (Jason Bateman) keeping so many people in the air when they could do the same task over the internet more efficiently makes no business sense Ryan could be grounded. To make sure, however, he’s hitting the road one last time with the new girl in tow, the two of them going on a journey of discovery that might change more then just the company line.

Jason Reitman’s (Juno) adaptation of Walter Kirn’s Up in the Air has been generating Oscar-worthy buzz since its debut at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year. It’s been lining up raves all over the place, recently being named by the National Board of Review as 2009’s best, many in the industry believing it is currently the runaway favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

While I do agree that this in a fine film and one worthy of much acclaim I’m not quite as certain about it’s end-of-year prospects. For one thing, it isn’t close to being perfect, dragging on a bit longer than necessary and containing a scene or two that don’t work near as well as the filmmaker intended. For another, its ultimate resolution, while in my mind beautifully close to perfection, isn’t exactly uplifting, the last scene leaving viewers in a state of flux akin to being stuck in an airport on standby.

Even so, this is still a stupendous achievement I can’t wait to see again. Profound, moving and emotionally timely, with current economic events being what they are this is one movie I could relate to more so than just about anything else I’ve seen this year. The depth of understanding Reitman and fellow screenwriter Sheldon Turner (who somehow also wrote The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) show is positively mind-blowing, and for anyone who has suffered even the threat of a layoff (let alone been through one) the connection they’ll feel to this piece is positively undeniable.

More, for those of us who haven’t read the book nothing quite happens here as you would normally expect it to. Characters change and morph, yes, but the answers they get – or think they get – aren’t as life changing or as instantly euphoric as the ones found in most Hollywood produced dramas. Nothing is easy here, and while connecting to others in deep and meaningful ways never is to see it so profoundly on display here was something of a revelation.

It’s hard to believe Kendrick is the same girl standing barely at the periphery of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. So good in Rocket Science just two years ago, I admit I still never expected anything like this from the young actress. Her performance here is the kind that can change a person’s entire career, the depths she is able to take herself to bordering on the extraordinary.

As for Clooney, I’m as big a fan of his as there is but I must say I don't quite understand all the hoopla. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is outstanding, I just don’t think he does anything all that far removed from his work in movies like Burn After Reading, The Good German or Solaris. Those were all nice pieces of work to be sure, but to put them or this at the same level as say his Oscar-winning turn in Syriana or his nominated one for Michael Clayton is a bit beyond my understanding.

As for the rest, Vera Farmiga is just great as Ryan’s female doppelganger Alex Goran, her character’s motivations as sneakily hidden as the smile on her face is stunningly ebullient. J.K. Simmons, Melanie Lynskey, Sam Elliott and Danny McBride all have sublime individual bits that made me smile in appreciation, while Zach Galifianakis opens things up with a bit of funny yet heartbreaking introspection that caught me more than a tiny bit by surprise.

I almost can’t believe Reitman’s progression as a filmmaker. While Thank You for Smoking was an awfully fine movie and Juno stole more than a few hearts (including mine) his ability to craft material into something unique and personal is downright extraordinary. The confidence he is showing, his ability to tap right to the center of the emotional core or a piece like this one makes my heart soar as high as the airplanes flying through the clouds here. He is quickly becoming not just a great director, but one that I get excited about in regards to what he’s got up his sleeve next, finding out a thing certain to give me great joy.

Up in the Air is a wonderful addition to Reitman’s filmography. It speaks to the here and now while showing an understanding of the human condition that’s downright universal. While I can’t say the film took me into the stratosphere it certainly left me soaring, and even if I’m not going to proclaim it the very best thing I’ve seen this year to call it the director’s greatest achievement yet would be a sky high understatement.   

Film Rating: êêê1/2 (out of 4)  

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