Pictured: Anna Kendrick and George Clooney
Up in the Air, the new film from Juno director Jason Reitman, has received astounding critical praise. It is at the very top of most critics’ top lists of the year, and is a shoo-in for a Best Picture Oscar nom, many predict a win. To those people, I say, “huh?” I liked this film, it was enjoyable, but by no means is it like nothing we've seen before, as so many are purporting it to be. I suppose I should have expected this considering the outrageous overrating of Juno, which was cute at best, but I really am stumped by how hyped this film has gotten.
The story is of Ryan (Clooney), a loner among loners. His career of firing employees of other companies forces him to constantly disengage himself emotionally, and this trait has trickled into every aspect of his life. With the help of his female counterpart Alex (Vera Farmiga) and newcomer to the bizz Natalie (Anna Kendrick), Ryan learns the importance of human interaction and allows himself to see the flaws in his life view and adjust his philosophy accordingly.
The acting is great, but Clooney is outshone by his female costars. Vera Farmiga, who impressed audiences with her work in films like The Departed and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is poised and worldly, the type of gal other gals go to for advice. Anna Kendrick, who has been slowly gaining momentum with films like Rocket Science and more recently the Twilight franchise, is a show-stopping scene-stealer as the young new viper to whom Clooney must show the ropes. Her performance was for me, the highlight of the film. She breathes spirited life into a story intent on reminding us of our own mortality.
Clooney is charming as always, but, like the ladies of Nine, is simply reusing old material and passing it off as fresh, in this case thanks to a well-constructed script as opposed to flashy musical numbers. My biggest compliment (aside from Kendrick’s performance) goes to the wonderful soundtrack which features some great little-known folk artists. However, I really don’t have much more to say. I didn’t hate it by any means, it was a good film, but alas, as far as I can tell, this emperor is naked.
Agreed. If I hadn't heard anything about it, I probably would have said, "Wow, this is great." It's adorable at times, poignent at others, and does a good job of dealing with the generation gap/technology movement without being too trite, which is rare. Yet the barrage of oscar hype just makes me go "Huh?" There is no way this was better than The Hurt Locker, and from what I've seen/heard of Precious, I doubt it was better than that either. Why are the nominations so weird this year?? (I know they're trying to crowd please, but have a little respect, seriously.)
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