Up In The Air (2009) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Jason Reitman
Starring:  George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Sam Elliott, JK Simmons

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) is a man at peace with himself.    He is a road warrior, traveling 300 days a year as a "Termination Facilitator", or in other words he fires people on behalf of companies who don't want to do it themselves.    He enjoys his job and his world of hotels, rental cars, and flights that take him all over the country.    He is friendly, but no one can really call him a friend.    When he is not firing people, he conducts seminars about how personal relationships are a drain on people's lives.    He uses a backpack as a prop, explaining how he fits everything he needs into that one backpack.    The rest is superfluous.

Bingham is a loner, but not without charm and social skills.    He seems like a good guy to hang with, but he wouldn't rank high on a list of people you would want to share your most intimate secrets with.    He wouldn't have it any other way.    The closest things he has to personal connections are with Alex (Farmiga), a fellow road warrior with whom he has a casual relationship (i.e. sex when they happen to be in the same city at the same time) and Natalie (Kendrick), a perky newcomer at Ryan's company who travels with him and learns the ropes.  

Ryan's world receives a jolt when his company pulls him off the road in favor of "termination facilitators" firing someone via video conferencing.    It isn't very personal, but it sure does save on travel expenses.     Ryan's apartment looks unlived in.    The only things in his fridge are alcohol and condiments.   He dreads being home.   Ryan has a goal in his life, which is to earn 10,000,000 frequent flier miles, which is something only six other people have ever reached.   "More people have walked on the moon," he tells Natalie as he joyously instructs Natalie on travel tips and racking up frequent flier miles.    He doesn't want to travel anywhere on vacation with the miles, mind you.    "The miles is the goal," he explains.    We don't know whether to see that as admirable or pathetic.

Up In The Air doesn't relegate itself to formulas.   It is part comedy, part drama, part documentary of a man whose life is his job.    It doesn't pay off the way you would expect.    Director and co-writer Jason Reitman handles things gently and doesn't beat us over the head with satire.    Things maintain an even tone.  Some of the people whom Ryan or Natalie fire are real people who have been on the chopping block, giving those scenes an extra realistic edge.    Clooney received an Oscar nomination, as did Farmiga and Kendrick.    His performance is comfortable, confident, sly, and knowing, even after he undergoes some unexpected transitions.    The women in his life (including his two sisters we meet later) provide some semblance of stability and yes, those personal relationships he finds he doesn't dread so much after all.