All Up in My Air

Yesterday, Kristen and I rented the movie Up in the Air. I wanted to see it out of pure instinct in the theaters a few months ago, but waited till now. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 90%, so it was a for sure rental. I believe it also won best film or something at ze Oscars. Regardless, it's a movie by Jason Reitman, the same guy that did Juno. The cinematography is brilliant. I simply loved how this movie was shot. The quick, pseudo-montage sequences that move the plot along in a short period of time, but also emphasize the emotions being developed are very well done. The shots from the airplanes are really good too, showing each city they go to.

George Clooney was pretty fantastic. He even narrates- BRILLIANT! The only thing I didn't really believe was that he was supposed to be from Wisconsin, but that's only because I live here, and he has absolutely no remnants of our wonderful accent. Other than that, he was perfect for the role and stepped up to the vast array of emotions that his character exhibited. Vera Farmiga plays his counterpart and complimented Clooney nicely. The Twilight girl, Anna Kendrick, was pretty good, but not as amazing as her co-stars. Plus, her hair invades her forehead like Germans into Poland-makes her look rather Lichenthropish (Werewolf-ish.) I'm not totally convinced she's not related to Eddy Munster.

But here's the thing about Up in the Air: the emotions were all too real. Clooney is basically a man who is hired to fire people around the country. We see about 30 firings over the course of the film and after a while they start to get to you a little. Seeing how afraid people were of being unemployed after years of dedication and service is devastating just to watch. Near the end there is scene where they show people who were fired earlier and how they are going to deal and why life is worth it. One of them uttered a phrase that really got to me, "a light at the end of the tunnel." For whatever reason, this instantly brought a tear to my eye. I guess being recently unemployed and having to deal with the harshness of the job market much more than most of my colleagues has been very hard to deal with, and I have been constantly looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. It sounds lame, but the light is very, very dim right now, and I completely identified with those actors on the screen on deeply personal level. In other words, exquisite acting.

Long story short, this movie was excellent and it exceeded my expectations. It deals with things you wouldn't think it would, and is far from predictable. There are few huge moments that are really quite impossible to see coming. I highly recommend this movie, especially if you have felt the pressure of the current job climate or sympathize with those of us who do.