Up in the Air

Name: Up in the Air
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: December 4, 2009
Rating: 83
Cast: Anna Kendrick, George Clooney, Vera Farmiga

2009

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 544 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 544 Ratings

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Up In The Air

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 4, 2009 | R

Starring: Anna Kendrick, George Clooney, Vera Farmiga

Summary: Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. (Paramount Pictures)

Director: Jason Reitman

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: R

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Critic Reviews

100

Lou Lumenick

One of the year's best films and so tapped into the zeitgeist that it's positively scary. Read full review

100

Rene Rodriguez

Up in the Air is also optimistic about the perpetual themes that preoccupy so many movies that endure the test of time: Life is better with company. And everybody needs a co-pilot. Read full review

100

Stephen Farber

It's rare for a movie to be at once so biting and so moving. If Ryan's future seems bleak, there's something exhilarating about a movie made with such clear-eyed intelligence. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Reitman brings the same mixture of comedy and drama to this movie that he brought to "Juno." Read full review

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

If Steven Soderbergh taught Clooney how to act in "Out of Sight," then Reitman has taught him how to stop acting. This is the most vulnerable, the most playful, the most human performance of his career. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Farmiga has never been better than she is here. Rarely does she get to do comedy, and she and Clooney give Up in the Air's sustained air of engaging disengagement a heartbeat as well as a romantic charge. Read full review

Keith Uhlich

Reitman, who also cowrote the screenplay, feels the constant need to "deepen" his characters, granting them wants and motivations--especially during the moralistic third act--that are totally alien to how they're initially portrayed. Read full review

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User Reviews

MegWhiteley

Mar 16, 2012

One of my favorite films ever, is amazing, incedible, emotive. And the better... the cast, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga, George Clooney, are amazing. The story can be sad, but the film is fantastic. Up in the Air is a classic.

6 of 6 users found this helpful60

SeanE

Jan 18, 2010

This is really an excellent film - have seen it 3 times - and can only find one small problem with the story (it has to do with Alex - and the behavior of Player-type personalities - so I would really give the film a 9.75 grade). The film is spot-on placing the personalities within the This is really an excellent film - have seen it 3 times - and can only find one small problem with the story (it has to do with Alex - and the behavior of Player-type personalities - so I would really give the film a 9.75 grade). The film is spot-on placing the personalities within the larger context of their roles in society - and demonstrates that we have much work to do to start caring about one another again. It's funny/sad/real and makes a statement. See this film - you won't be sorry.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

BloodMeridian85

Dec 19, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Slickly rendered and intelligently scripted, offering a deft mixture of comedy and pathos, "Up in the Air" is entertaining but also painstakingly grounded in reality, seamlessly entwining humor with an existentially bleak edge that this troubled era of downsizing and recession makes all the more meaningful and relevant.

As far as acting goes, the performances here are exceptional, and are largely what makes it work. J. K. Simmons and Steve Eastin are fantastic in their brief but brilliant cameos as fired employees; Amy Morton and Jason Bateman offer some good supporting work; and Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick deliver richly layered performances in their respective roles, Kendrick in particular. But George Clooney is the centerpiece of the film evoking Ryan Bingham with charisma and suave interlaced with loneliness, desperation and fear.

A fantastic view.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RyanGee

Sep 28, 2010

Being a minor with not much responsibility other than taking the next test or completing a major homework assignment, I have not really been affected by the downturn of the economy. I can see how other people are affected by it, but I have not really felt what it is like to lose a job,Being a minor with not much responsibility other than taking the next test or completing a major homework assignment, I have not really been affected by the downturn of the economy. I can see how other people are affected by it, but I have not really felt what it is like to lose a job, losing a home, or having no money to my name.

Jason Reitman's (director of Juno) explores the downturn of the economy through characters Ryan Bringham played by veteran George Clooney. Ryan is hired by other companies to fire workers simply because the managers do not have the "balls" to do so. Bringham experiences the fast life, traveling from city to city, only really exploring the airport and the monotonous lives of office buildings. During his ventures to airports, he meets fellow Alex Goran, Vera Farmiga, a fellow "fast-lifer" and goes into a "casual" relationship with her. Clooney is content with his life of little personal human communication until young Natalie Keener, Anna Kendrick (Twilight), tries to make Clooney's company more "efficient," threatening Clooney's lifestyle. Clooney then spends most of the film taking Keener to fire people showing her that her "developments" will ruin the basis of the job.

Up In The Air is a commendable movie. Being a fan of Juno and other "hipster" films, I immediately fell in love with the artistic shots, indie music, and funny one-liners. But unlike Juno, Reitman's film actually has meaning. It is a true representation of today's economy, focusing and conveying the "lows" of our society. Up In The Air is not a "feel-good" movie as it portrays death, loss, and love, in a very negative way. But because of this, it establishes the purpose of the film, showing life is ugly.

The cast of the movie achieves a well-acted feat. George Clooney acts in his truly apathetic character to the point of realism. Although Clooney performs an Oscar-worthy performance, his character's emotions are not consistent throughout the movie. Clooney's character goes through an emotional change, that would seem to drastic for it to be possible. Clooney's love interest, Vera Farmiga likewise plays her character to perfection without the flaws of an emotional change. Although actors Clooney and Farmiga make this film shine, Anna Kendrick's performance is less than stellar. Kendrick, known for her roles in Twilight, doesn't move beyond the teen acting she displays in the teen-vampire hit. Her character is important to the story, but I sometimes found her character to be both bothersome and somewhat annoying. Kendrick's performance got her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the Golden Globes which in my opinion, is not deserved. The acting in Up In The Air is great, but it contains some minor flaws that can be overlooked.

Up In The Air is a movie that I recommend to most mature movie goers. Like Jason Reitman's other directed films, it has a dark feel that leads to a good film. Young audiences will not appreciate this film, of course, due to a representation that will just "go over their heads." The final song in the credits composed by an average citizen, sums this movie up, as it brings reality to the film from a true representative. Never has a film's credits been so touching. Overall, Up In The Air is the movie that this recession will be represented by for generations to come.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

pajamatime

Oct 28, 2014

it's really a great movie except when Anna Kendrick cried when her boyfriend broke up with her via text it was obvious that she was trying to fake it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Trev29

Mar 31, 2012

A very boring film. The acting is overpraised so much that it is ridiculous. The critics are so wrong. Everything about it, had nothing new to offer. This movie even makes me more sick of George than I already am.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CarolAnn

Dec 25, 2009

Couldn't wait to see this highly praised movie. About 30 minutes into the film I knew I had been had. Just awful with characters that you hate, poor dialogue, and a movie that meanders nowhere. So depressing in this economy and to be released at Christmas? What were they thinking. Word Couldn't wait to see this highly praised movie. About 30 minutes into the film I knew I had been had. Just awful with characters that you hate, poor dialogue, and a movie that meanders nowhere. So depressing in this economy and to be released at Christmas? What were they thinking. Word of mouth will doom this terrible work.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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27	#27 Best Movie of 2009
22	#22 Most Discussed Movie of 2009
83	#83 Most Shared Movie of 2009