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| Poster artwork for the drama comedy film Up In The Air. |
Corporate
dis-Connections by Linh
Up
In The Air is film adaptation from director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno) and is a cracker of narrative wit,
humour and emotional conflict. Jason also produced the film with his father
Ivan Reitman (already announced as the director and producer for Ghostbusters 3)
whose creative input adds to the ironies of tragedy in life that can be dealt
with through comedy such as the themes of job loss and human connection in the
film.
Up In
The Air is based on Walter Kirn's novel of the same name and
with some artistic license, Jason Reitman and his team of producers have
created a film that is moving, funny and thought-provoking. The story is
narrated by the protagonist Ryan Bingham, whose job is his life that completely
dictates his lifestyle. Ryan Bingham is a career transition counsellor whose
job is to sack people face-to-face when bosses couldn't muster up the courage,
will or gumption to do it themselves. He has a perpetual presence in airport
bars, five-star hotels and is a recipient of enviable first class luxuries and
privileges. Ryan's ultimate goal is to reach ten million frequent flyer miles
(in the novel it's one million) but along the way, his personal mission is
disrupted when his boss becomes impressed with a young corporate down-sizer,
Natalie Keener, whose technique of sacking employees via the internet can save
his company time and money. She is not the only female to enter Ryan's life.
While flying across the country to fire more workers, Ryan meets his female
counterpart and equal in the seductive and smart frequent flyer Alex Goran.
They immediately connect over a common interest in no-strings-attached sex and
first class bonuses. We start to see Ryan contemplating his life choices and he
considers a life with connections as an option for him, after a weekend spent
romancing Alex and mentoring Natalie at his younger sister, Julie's wedding.
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SACKABLE:
Natalie (Anna Kendrick) learns the old-school technique of firing someone from
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) in the film Up
In The Air. Image: Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks.
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The cast for Up In The
Air is a dream-team lead by George Clooney as the externally charismatic
but shallow character Ryan Bingham; Anna Kendrick (Twilight, Pitch Perfect) is fantastic as the wet-behind-the ears but
techno-savvy Natalie and the alluring Vera Farmiga (The Departed, The Boy In The
Striped Pyjamas) gives a top-notch performance as Alex.
Although the first few scenes depict Ryan Bingham firing
employees played by actors, such as JK Simmons (Thank You For Smoking, Juno)
and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover
trilogy, Into the Wild), the rest of
the film features actual retrenched, sacked and dismissed people from Detroit
and St. Louis. Producers of the film put ads in the newspaper under the guise
of seeking sacked workers for a documentary, and filmed them reacting and
responding to being sacked. These people are the real faces behind the
statistics of the recession and the 2007 – 2009 global financial crisis, making
Up In The Air a timely reminder of
the sad consequences such economic dilemmas can bring.
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FAMILIARITY:
Ryan
Bingham (George Clooney) finds comfort in Alex's (Vera Farmiga) company in the
film Up In The Air. Image: Paramount
Pictures/DreamWorks.
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Up
In The Air carries a metaphor throughout the film that shows in the
characterisations as well as in the narrative, where firing people is akin to
avoiding commitment in a relationship or family issues. George Clooney is
pitch-perfect as the suave Ryan Bingham and brings humour to his character
despite having a horrible job like sacking people. His lack of connections to
people on an intimate level enables him to be devoid of any sympathy or empathy
when firing people in person. This depicts a man who's a keen observer of
people's lives rather than a participant of their lives. He uses his job to
fuel a personal goal to attain contentment and is satisfied with the pampering
and privileges his frequent flyer points reward him. He meets his match in two
women whose own goals not only conflict or suit his own, but also sparks a
connection Ryan Bingham doesn't expect or feels uncomfortable with.
Fans of the Twilight saga films would recognise Anna Kendrick as
Bella's best friend, but she plays a far more complex role in Up In The Air and Kendrick shows she is
a star on the rise as Natalie Keener. Her character is a typical Generation
Y-er who is brought up in a world where technology makes connecting with people
faster, easier and cheaper. Her ideas of firing people over the internet and
ways of minimising the possible harm to career transition counsellors in the
process has its advantages and pitfalls. She is the new breed of corporate
downsizing that allows globalisation to become localisation - you can fire
someone anywhere in the world from the comfort of your desk in front of a
computer monitor. Natalie soon learns that technology has its strengths in
cutting people loose but not in keeping loved ones close enough. When she
admits her boyfriend dumped her via text message, Ryan retorts: "Wow.
That's kind of like getting fired over the Internet."
Vera Farmiga admitted to using a body double in her nude
scene with George Clooney in the hotel room, but her real body of work shows
she has more to her than meets the eye. Farmiga exudes sensuality and
confidence as the mysterious Alex whom Ryan meets at a bar. She is the female
double of Ryan Bingham and understands his needs as a frequent traveller as
well as how to serve it up by synchronising her flight schedules with his.
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FAMILY:
Julie (Melanie Lynskey) and Kara (Amy Morton) convince their brother Ryan
(George Clooney) to attend Julie's wedding in the film Up In The Air. Image: Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks.
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Music is a strong element in bringing people together and
making connections, but rapper/singer Young MC is an unusual choice for a brief
appearance in the film. His singing voice may have become slightly rusty but
his energy and enthusiasm keeps everyone entertained as he belts out his hit
'Bust A Move'. The closing credits of Up In The Air is capped off with a song
by the same name which is written and sung by an unemployed musician named
Kevin Renick from St Louis. He handed an unsolicited cassette tape of the song
to director Jason Reitman a couple of years ago while Reitman was working on Juno and thought nothing of it for a
while. Reitman decided to use the song after listening to it and discovering
the lyrics carried sentiments similar to that of his film. 'Up In The Air' is
an emotional and gentle pop/folk song about uncertainties and indecisions,
"who the heck you are and where you're going" in life.
Up
In The Air is ultimately about the human connections we have
throughout life in work, family and socialising and the grief that emerges if
any of these aspects of our lives are threatened either through job loss or a
death of a friend/family/colleague. The film has a focus on job loss but it's
an experience that can ripple through and affect other areas of our lives, as
depicted through the interactions between characters in various situations. Up In The Air has won numerous film
awards including Best Actor and Actress/Supporting Actress Awards for George
Clooney, Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga.
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PACKABLE:
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) can pack his entire life inside a backpack in the
film Up In The Air. Image: Paramount Pictures/DreamWorks.
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Director:
Jason Reitman
Writers: Jason
Reitman (screenplay), Sheldon Turner (screenplay), Walter Kirn (novel)
Cast:
George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Zach Galifianakis,
JK Simmons, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, Sam Elliott, Danny McBride, Chris Lowell,
Marvin Young (Young MC)
Producers:
Jason Reitman, Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock, Daniel Dubiecki, Jeffrey Clifford,
Ted Griffin, Michael Beugg, Joe Medjuck, Helen Estabrook, Jason Blumenfeld, Ali
Bell
Original
Music Composer: Rolfe Kent, Matt Messina
Cinematographer:
Eric Steelberg
Film
Editor: Dana E. Glauberman
Production:
Steve Saklad (Production Designer), Andrew Max Cahn (Art Director), Linda Lee
Sutton (Set Decorator)
Costume
Designer: Danny Glicker
Running
Time: 1 hour and 55 minutes
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