Directed by Jason Reitman, Up in the Air casts George Clooney as lead character for “Ryan Bingham” alongside Vera Farmiga as “Alex Goran” and Anna Kendrick as “Natalie Keener”. Based on the novel of same name by “Walter Kirn”, Ryan Bingham works for a consultancy firm in Omaha which specializes in downsizing and providing company layoffs across countries. As businessmen, he travels across the world firing people for most of the days separating himself completely from his family and home. He believes in his ways of being alone and not carrying enough of emotional baggage. Natalie Keener on other side joins the consultancy firm after following her boyfriend to Omaha. She is a young 23 year old girl who questions Ryan’s philosophies and stands adamant on her ways of living life with someone to hold onto. Alex Goran, also a very similar character to Ryan’s personality travels around for her work. She is a beautiful middle aged woman who meets Ryan at a stop where both exchange a breif conversation before flying on to their destinations.
Ryan loves his job and his lifestyle. He has no place for committed love or building a family of his own. Natalie starts to question Ryan’s weird philosophies about marriage and someone special; the thought which never ringed in his ears.
The movie pictures an amazing circle of believing and disbelieving in portraying the character of Ryan Bingham and his philosophies. You cannot stop running for something or for someone. It’s what lays in the journey shapes your personality. Ryan Bingham is a strong character to challenge common society norms of marriage, love, life and act as a true escape for most people living their life running in predefined paths of people. George clooney handsomely advocates the role of corporate man with well defined dialogues and acting.
The opposnent character of Natalie Keener supports the protagnist’s story by finely judging and supporting societal ways of living a happy life. The character manages to bring out the hidden emotion of love even for a shallow seeming person like Ryan Bingham. Anna Kendrick has naturally played her role of a young and confused lady who struggles with different short lived emotions of love and life.
Vera Farmiga as third lead Alex Goran completes the circle of plot when story goes through its highs and lows. As a woman at her middle age, the character of Alex interestingly explores the true dynamics of society, bringing sentiments to the character of Ryan. The romance between the two steals the show.
One can not call the movie simple but its very realistic in its own ways. The depiction of romance, comedy and heartbreak makes you fall for the characters and hope for a better ending. I , personally, am a big fan of endings and it needs to be satisfying as we all expect it to be. However, Up in the air does not really end. It rather floats with a mystery where the character “Ryan Bingham” is free to choose its way ahead. The audience can also come up with their ideas of how it could have led. It would definitely leave you with questions and several thoughts and maybe, at last you would make peace with its ending. But then, for sure, you would want to watch it again.
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