Up in the Air.

All I had read about ‘Up in the Air‘ before seeing it lead me to believe that it was directed by Jason Reitman, and that it was mainly about a man flying around the world trying to earn ten million frequent-flier miles. Beyond that, I had no idea what I was getting into.

Well, the first thing was correct: the film is directed by Jason Reitman, who before directing ‘Up in the Air,’ was nominated for and Oscar for directing ‘Juno.’ Reitman (a Canadian I might add), knows what he’s doing with this film as much as he did with Juno. Though the script suffers in comparison (thanks to it not being written by Diablo Cody), Reitman proves that he’s one of the most competent directors working today. The movie is both visually and dramatically interesting.

The second thing I thought I knew about this movie was not true: it isn’t merely about George Clooney flying all over the planet racking up miles.

Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a professional “downsizer” whose company flys him around the U.S. firing people on behalf of their employer. He spends more than 3oo days/year on the road (or, in the air, if you will). Jumping from city to city is his passion and he’s miserable when he’s home. When his company decides to ground it’s downsizer crew, Bingham’s life crashes on the tarmac and high drama ensues.

I always enjoy George Clooney, but really, he tends to be the same in just about every movie. He may as well have been playing Daniel Ocean here.

The other performances are good. Don’t be fooled by seeing Zach Galifianakis so highly billed, either. He has a cameo at the first of the flick and that’s all we get of him. Shame, really.

I grabbed ‘Up in the Air’ from the Confederation Centre Public Library. If you have the chance, you oughta reserve it yourself.