“Life’s better with company. Everyone needs a co-pilot.”
– Ryan Bingham (Up In The Air)
Up In The Air was another movie I was not expecting to enjoy but ended up learning a lot from. It may be fiction, but as you likely know, fiction can be educational and enlightening. In this case, it was educational, enlightening, and entertaining. I enjoy it when George Clooney plays these witty characters and this movie did not disappoint.
Up In The Air is about a guy that flies all over to organizations that hire his company to come in and lay people off. Sounds pretty awful doesn’t it? You work for a company for however long and then someone you have never met that doesn’t even work within the same company takes you aside to let you know your employment is ending.
I can see the appeal or the justification that the organizations would use to convince themselves this was a good thing. It avoids an awkward situation between you and your employees and it could prove beneficial and efficient to have someone that is accustomed to delivering that kind of bad news. They are trained and mentally equipped to handle the awkward nature of interactions involving employment termination.
What I loved about Up In The Air was that the main character seemed fairly cold, calculating, impersonal, disconnected, and, to an extent, heartless. As the film progresses, you start to see that this is not the case. He takes what he does seriously, but he is not entirely without heart. He is good at what he does, but there is more to it. He is good in a way that is good for the people that he encounters.
Up In The Air, while somewhat dark, is also about evaluating where you are in life and how you got there. Having been laid off before, I empathize with the fear and uncertainty. The frustration and the anger are palpable, and more so when the termination is through no fault of yours. It is devastating, especially if it is your first time and the is little notice.
Even if you have no interest in the movie, I encourage you to at least watch the scene where George Clooney is notifying J.K. Simmons’ character. The questions asked are important for us all. The realization can be life-changing.
Journeyman's Legacy 