'Up In The Air'

'Up In The Air' (R) ****

Writers: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner based on novel by Walter Kirn
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, JK Simmons, Melanie Lynskey, Danny McBride, Zach Galfinakis

I was not expecting to be blown away and moved so deeply by Jason Reitman's "Up In The Air". This is Jason Reitman's movie and he has become a new force in Hollywood as a great writer and storyteller. Also George Clooney has done some great work including "Out Of Sight" and "Michael Clayton" but he gives a career defining performance in this movie. This is a totally charming and cool Clooney but a very vulnerable George Clooney and it could get him that first Best Actor Oscar win. He is amazing in this movie not only showing that he owns the screen more than any actor today but is so assured in his screen presence that we are talking Cary Grant like star power here. You also have an actress who is so sexy, beautiful and cool who plays Clooney's love interest and is the first actress that has been able to stand toe to toe with Clooney's sex appeal. Vera Farmiga is extremely sexy and confident here and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She is amazing as a woman who at first seems just like Clooney's character but turns out to have much deeper shades to her. We also have a star making performance by Anna Kendrick as Clooney's trainee and she also finds an assured lock on her character and is good at playing naive but also digs deeper. Also writer and director Jason Reitman is building a powerful resume of great films with "Thank You For Smoking", "Juno" and now this and he knows how to tell a winning story.

Now I will get to the story that got me hooked and surprisingly emotional. This is a very seductive story about Ryan Bingham whose job is to fly around to different companies that are laying off their employees and giving them the bad news. He does his job very well and has flown around so much that he becomes only the seventh passenger to hit ten million miles in the air. He is now given a young woman to take on the road played by Anna Kendrick to show her the ropes because up till now she is more computer based. He also hooks up with a fellow passenger that flies around almost as much as he does. They hook up from time to time and strike up kind of a relationship or is it a fling? Again let me say that Vera Farmiga is extremely sexy and her and Clooney create major sparks together. This movie deals with a lot of powerful things like loneliness. This is a very lonely job and Ryan is on the road a lot at the expense of a grounded relationship, a home and keeping in touch with his family. The thing is Ryan loves his lifestyle, doesn't want to get married and likes life on the road. Boy did I identify with this character for many reasons. I always thought it would be exciting to have a job where I traveled a lot for I do like the loner lifestyle and a lot of freedom but this movie might have changed my mind. This movie knows how to deal with lonliness. The story is also powerful and topical because it deals with what most of America has dealt with lately. It deals with people losing jobs in a dwindling economy and the scenes where people are being fired are very powerful and Reitman uses real people that were actually fired. What you have here is a funny, sad and powerful movie that is extremely entertaining. You also have a beautiful, charming and powerful performance by Clooney, a confident and sexy performance by Farmiga and a great performance that has given us a wonderful new actress in Anna Kendrick. I had a great time watching "Up In The Air" and I did not expect to have a lump in my throat at the end. This movie is what great commercial Hollywood filmmaking should always be about.