Up in the Air

There's a reason that this was (incorrectly, as it turned out) hailed as a major Oscar contender. In many ways it ticks all the prestige-film boxes: indie aesthetic, snappy script, a couple of breakout supporting performances and one central major star turn. George Clooney plays to his considerable strengths as Ryan Bingham, a "downsizing expert" hired by companies to come in and sack employees for them, who loves his encumbrance-free life living out of a suitcase and enjoying the occasional commitment-free tryst with fellow travellers like Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga). However, his idyllic existence is threatened when his firm hires go-getting recent graduate Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick, looking about 15) who pitches cost-saving measures, like firing people remotely via Skype rather than travelling all over the country. Hence a worried Bingham takes Keener on the road with him to show her how things work, and as relationships develop and dormant family ties are reactivated, the facades of the central characters' lives start to crack.

Similarly, there are plenty of reasons why the film was so highly praised: Clooney and Farmiga have extraordinary on-screen chemistry, and Kendrick demonstrates a remarkable talent as a comic actor as well as nailing her more emotional scenes. The supporting cast is also superb (especially Jason Bateman as Bingham and Keener's boss, and JK Simmons and Zach Galifianakis cameoing among the recently fired), and director Jason "Juno" Reitman keeps things moving along at a steady pace. The story of a hired gun roaming America's corporatescape, downsizing as he goes, has a particularly timely resonance, of course – even if his sideline as a motivational business speaker encouraging folks to strip their lives back from possessions and relationships is clearly only there so he can have a third-act epiphany. The paucity of DVD extras is a disappointment, but by any standard this is a film that easily stands on its own.

Extras Deleted and extended scenes, titles featurette

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