Boredom has one of its cures in the form of Movies. Over weekend, due to the unavailability of any other movies, I happened to see ‘Up in the Air’. Not a movie I would have preferred to see on a boring weekend but rather in the confinement of my laptop. Took the tickets for the movie after a sumptuous meal of porotta and mutton. Just to say that, it makes you quite drowsy 😀 . Certain things that are not to be done before a serious movie. Anyways!
All I knew about the movie was the amount of nominations it gathered at the awards. George Clooney was nominated for the Best actor. This movie also had couple of other nominations. His role in the movie was that of a person who fires people. Oh boy, what kind of job is that! Well that was enough of a hook for me to watch 🙂
Movie starts off with the reactions of the people getting fired for whom you feel for. Our hero Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) gets introduced on an interesting question ‘ Who the fuck are you’ . A person that is close to the odyssey generation; although you don’t quite expect an old person here. . He loves travelling, being on air and prefers to be isolated. He flies 350k miles in an year. Can you even Imagine! It goes without saying that he doesn’t prefer to be grounded. He is suave and charming as usual. Does his job well (pun intended). Only family he has is sister’s and rest are one night stands.
He once meets on a trip, a lovely lady named Alex (Vera Farmiga) with whom a small relationship starts. His sister is nagging him to come to his niece’s wedding. There is a new brain in the office who came up with a wonderful plan of firing people via video conference to which Ryan naturally objects.
Will the new brain Natalie (Anna Kendrick) be able to implement? Will Ryan be able to convince her? Will Ryan complete his personal target of 10 million airmiles and get into that elite club? Will anything happen to Alex & Ryan?
On the direction part the movie is quite good. Visuals are not that splendid. The acting department stands out. The screenplay doesn’t grip you quite well. Couple of scenes in between is well-played out. Anna Kendrick gets you by surprise after you’ve seen her in Twilight series. Her nomination is well deserved. She has now proved that she knows how to act.
Nice touches: Scene where Alex & Ryan meets, Scene where Ryan challenges Natalie & the Rendezvous with the pilot.
Final note: It’s a movie that you can catch up on DVD. Just an average fair! Unlike the punchline ‘The Story of a man ready to make a connection’; the movie doesn’t quite make a connection.
Rating: 3/5
My Random Thoughts 
Comments on: "Up in the Air – Not quite in the Air!" (6)
review kollam mone…
the movie is worth watching once
Thanks a lot bro.. 🙂
Gud review, but i need 2 watch da movie though!
Thanks a lot for reading. Movie stands out in acting department and in nuances.
For me the ending was a let down. 😦
I’d seen this movie a few weeks ago. For the first time I watched 3 movies contesting for Oscars and had even thought of writing an article highlighting the commons among their themes (my interpretations though!!)
Unfortunately did not get enough time and the Oscars did not wait for me.. 😦
I agree, it’s not a movie to watch after having Porotta+Mutton !!! The presentation is very plain which matches with the protagonist’s life and attitude towards life and attachments..
I’d read somewhere that they used people who got FIRED in real life in the intro scene and that brought in a lot of originality !! (information not verified and hence can’t claim as authentic)
There are some pointers which throws light to the way companies consider the employees – just as a resource.. like a table, chair, computer..etc..
Hats off to George Clooney for the fantastic acting and the lady who played Alex’s role displayed an awesome chemistry. The director succeeded in portraying that life is not as simple as a backpack from which you can take out relations/attachments/commitments that easily. The protagonist resembles someone among us who pretend to be allergic to relations but would grab the opportunity to fall in love when he/she meets someone who they think suits best..
I’d give something close to 4, may be 3.7 !!
Apologies for a a long comment.. Keep writing amigo !!!
Actual people who got fired are shown in the movie. That’s what I have also read.
Longest comment received so far. But loved it. Must admit that.
The movie had lot of nuanced scenes. Which I did like a lot.
I reduced points because of lack of pace. And I dont like unhappy climax. Too much of bollywood influence maybe. 😀