Up in the Air
2009
****
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, Danny R. McBride, J. K. Simmons
An enjoyable romantic comedy drama about Ryan Bingham, a transition consultant who zooms across the country to tell people that they no longer have a job. He loves the travelling and enjoys being free of any baggage, be it a wife, child or home. Now his job is in danger of becoming obsolete, and he's falling in love. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner adapted Walter Kirn's novel. The story takes us on a fairly familiar journey (the selfish protagonist and the cynical corporate satire both soften up during the course of the film), but it ends up in an unexpected place.
