Up In The Air

Is there a more watchable actor than George Clooney? He can coast through films on that effortless charm, but he's at his best when directors look below the smooth surface: the manic shenanigans with the Coens or the wounded, betrayed operators of Syriana or Michael Clayton. Ryan Bingham's surface calm masks an emotional void. He's only at home when in transit (he's also in pursuit of the Holy Grail of 10 million airmiles) and the days when he's grounded are to be dreaded. His apartment might best be described as functional - who needs the human touch when they're never there? He apparently never sees, or wants to see, his family, and his relationships are strictly casual. And then there's his job: he fires employees on behalf of gutless bosses. We should loathe this man, and yet we don't. Partly it's due to that Clooney charm, but Ryan's sardonic voiceover let's us into his mindset, and he's thoroughly professional when dealing people one of life's traumatic moments. His life runs like a well-oiled machine - his packed suitcase is a work of art and he moves effortlessly through the obstacle courses that are airports and hotels.
And then newbie Natalie comes up with a money-saving plan: fire people over the computer. No more airmiles, no more blissful isolation. Ryan has to take her on his final round of dismissals, and this gives rise to some hilarious exchanges. Ryan uses the full force of his withering humour to crush her during a sacking roleplay, blithely throws away her belongings when she's forced to repack in the middle of an airport, and generally challenges her worldview. Yet cracks are already showing in his facade. He's forced to cart around a cardboard cutout of his sister and her fiance (to photograph in front of various landmarks) which immediately wrecks his packing routine; he has to awkwardly comfort (publically!) a sobbing Natalie after she's been dumped, and most catastrophically of all, he might even be falling for his latest no-strings bedmate. Alex (their initial flirting revolved around a showing off of loyalty cards) Although you might think you know where all this is going, you don't, not quite. Yes, lessons are learned, family ties are reestablished and heartless technology is defeated but Ryan's world has subtly shifted off it's axis and not necessarily to his benefit. He's back in the airport but it's magic is gone, and the female of the species has proved to be far more unsentimental and pragmatic than the male.