Up in the Air

by on Dec.26, 2009, under 2009 films, American films

Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel Up in the Air, written by Walter Kirn. The story is about a corporate downsizer and his travels. It follows his isolated life and philosophies along with the people that he meets along the way.

Plot summary
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who travels around the country to various workplaces and using the principles of cost leadership, conducts employee layoffs on behalf of bosses too cowardly to do it themselves. Walter Kirn stated in the film’s press notes: “Ryan is like a masseur who comes in and sort of rubs your shoulders while rolling your desk chair into the elevator. On occasion he delivers motivational speeches about the virtue of a relationship-free life. He relishes the comfort of being anonymous during his perpetual travels. He does not have a personal life. His company chooses to ground him and keep him at the corporate headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. According to Reitman, “The movie is about the examination of a philosophy. What if you decided to live hub to hub, with nothing, with nobody?

Directed by Jason Reitman

Produced by
Daniel Dubiecki
Jeffrey Clifford
Ivan Reitman
Jason Reitman

Main Cast
* George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a career transition counselor
* Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran
* Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener
* Jason Bateman as Craig Gregory, owner of Integrated Strategic Management
* Amy Morton as Kara Bingham, Ryan Bingham’s older sister
* Melanie Lynskey as Julie Bingham, Ryan Bingham’s younger sister
* J.K. Simmons as Bob, a fired employee
* Sam Elliott as Maynard Finch, Chief Pilot
* Danny McBride as Jim Miller, Julie’s husband
* Zach Galifianakis as Steve, a fired employee