I have decided to include movies I see in the theaters on this blog because I believe there simply isn't enough opinions circulating the Internet regarding movies. That or perhaps this is the first step in a life long dream of one day having a post on Rottentomatoes.com!
If I were to summarize the career of George Clooney in two words they would be Danny Ocean. There is nothing to be ashamed of when you have created a character who is so entertaining and charismatic that he spawned franchise that has also allowed Clooney to do any project he wants regardless of potential commercial appeal. Which brings Clooney to Up in the Air, a film which features him smooth talking his way through life as a frequent flier miles collecting hired gunman for white collar Americans who are too afraid to take care of their own dirty work. And it's in this premise that the movie Up in the Air manages to succeed and fail and the same time.
Director Jason Reitman of Juno fame maintains a lot of the same attitudes and themes regarding society and modern life that we saw leaving me with the same kicked in the stomach feeling I left Juno with. It's not that these films are poorly made or even all that bad, they just leave me feeling empty.
Of course that would be Ryan Bingham's (Clooney) prescription for life. He is a professional "consultant" who flies around the country firing people for companies that don't want get their hands dirty and on the side he gives self help talks about how important it is to empty your life of emotional burdens such as family. It is a job and a life that few people can see themselves wanting regardless of economic times and one of the films most poignant qualities is the use of real people as his victims. And this is also one of the films greatest conundrums because the audience is forced to decide whether or not we are rooting for Bingham.
As Bingham, Clooney is as smooth as ever. He picks up a fellow traveler (Vera Farmiga) without so much as a struggle and the two begin a no questions asked relationship in which they get together anytime there within driving distance. His lifestyle gets placed in danger however when Natalie (Anne Kendrick), a young hot shot at the company proposes they begin saving money by firing people over web conference's. As an act of self preservation, Bingham agrees to take Natalie on the road with him to show her the ropes. On the road we see the three characters paths cross as they have fun crashing tech parties and dealing with the irony that Natalie got dumped on a text message. Of course, Natalie gets into trouble on the job and smooth talking Bingham has to save the day.
The final third of the film sees Bingham preparing to accept the possibility of a life in Omaha and rebuilding the bridges he had burned with his sisters in Wisconsin. He begins letting people into his life only to see himself get burned leaving the audience wondering perhaps a life of isolation really is best.
The film plays out as if it has a higher purpose. We all know and understand the problems our country has been through regarding the economy and how millions of people have been blind sided by that moment when their company decides to let them go. Their are powerful themes here and yet the film doesn't set right with me because I have no idea why I am interested in what happens to Bingham. I should hate him in principal and yet the film plays as if we are supposed care about him when his way of life is endangered. I am a big fan of films that have unlikeable characters (As Good as it Gets and Royal Tenenbaums come to mind) and one thing I like about those films is that they are not apologetic when it comes to how unlikeable their main characters are. Bingham talks about the dignity he provides in his job without a sense of awareness to the fact that being fired by a person you have never met does not feel like a very dignified way to get fired. The film's message seems to feel like it's a brutal world so your best bet is to try and survive. It doesn't make Bingham a hero, but it relies on Bingham to be a figure you care about. And while Clooney does his best, in the end I can't rap my brain around why I should care if this guy is able to maintain his lifestyle or not.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment