Unbored

In case any of you don’t follow the economy in Hollywood let me bring you up to speed, Paramount has been hiding since J.J. Abram’s re-imagined Star Trek and the intense psychological thriller GI-Joe: Rise of Cobra due to the recession. The past nine months have been completely quiet on that big mountain with the stars around it…

Trust me, they aren’t in trouble. They’re just biding their time. And now they’re back and they’re baying for blood, starting with Up in the Air.

I’ve never really felt much about George Clooney other than vague indifferent disdain. But then I went to see this… and I suddenly felt vague indifferent respect instead.

Up in the Air stars George as a specialist in firing people. He travels across America from job to job, living out of a suitcase and telling people that they’re being ‘let go.’ A new addition to his company unveils a plan to automate the process, firing people over the internet, and Clooney takes it upon himself to show her that his job may be hated and depressing, but just because you are paid to destroy lives doesn’t mean you have to be cold about it. He takes her under his wing and they travel across America while he shows her how it’s done.

So far so Cliché, it sounds alarmingly similar to Intolerable Cruelty, a film also starring Clooney as a hot-shot lawyer who runs around being George Clooney. But this film manages to surprise you on so many levels. For instance, they set up the usual ‘They’re a cynical veteran and an enthusiastic rookie…’ lead-up before totally ignoring the usual romantic comedy staple ‘…they set aside their differences and fall in love.’ (The first part is also used in Buddy Cop movies; if it ever used the second part I’d watch the shit out of it.) This film manages to imaginatively subvert dozens of these tropes without feeling like it’s just doing it to get attention or to be ‘gritty.’

The acting in the movie is superb. Clooney himself surpasses expectations by taking his staple wealthy, charismatic gentleman character and making him seem deep, conflicted and genuinely interesting without resorting to the typical ‘He learns the error of his ways and gets married’ plot thread. Clooney’s performance is worth the price of admission alone, but supporting actresses Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick are both great as well in their respective roles as worldly seductress and young businesswoman.

The writing is very well crafted, delivering witty jokes sprinkled here and there to relieve the tension during the more awkward moments, sculpting complex characters that remind you of somebody you know just like that whilst also showing makes them tick. There’s really not much else to say… I can’t talk about the effects, there aren’t any. I can’t mock the plot holes, there aren’t any. And I can’t tell you more about the plot without spoiling the experience.

So just take my word for it instead. This is one of those films that may not have any flashy spectacle to sell it, or a cookie-cutter Hollywood plot hook to drag you in, or even the ‘My characters do this because this film is EDGY and REALISTIC’ retardedness to put bums on seats. But it’s a genuinely clever and powerful bit of cinema. And it’s not worth missing out on.