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I was looking forward to seeing this film ever since I heard it was a close Oscar favourite. Also, I really like Jason Reitman as well. When I saw it at the cinema, I thought it was an absolute masterpiece!! It is a film that is full of laughs but it has its moments of emotional drama that does get depressing as it goes on. What I loved the most about this film is it felt like the viewers of the film are like travelling with Ryan in the film and we understand how he is feeling. Also, it is a beautiful film that I find is a life-teaching lesson for us all. As far as awards are concerned, I feel that Up In The Air as well as Inglourious Basterds and even Avatar deserves Best Picture instead of The Hurt Locker.
George Clooney delivers a performance that surprised me more than expected despite the awards he has been nominated for. Ryan is a man who makes a living by travelling to workplaces all around America who job is to fire employees. When Ryan meets both Alex and Anna, his life changes around completely and he starts to think about whether he wants to change things around in his life. George has always had that talent of playing a humorous character with a charming nature. I was never really a big fan of George Clooney before I saw Up In The Air but I like him more as an actor now. He is my pick for Best Leading Actor this year. Anna Kendrick's performance as Natalie Keener was absolutely amazing!! Natalie is a young and ambitious co-worker of Ryan's. The chemistry is something that could be possible love between the two. I think she rightly deserves a Best Supporting Actress nomination if not a win this year. Vera Farmiga has delivered great performances over the years such as The Departed and The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Her performance in Up In The Air is her best role of her career so far. Alex is a frequent flyer just like Ryan and when they meet they begin a casual relationship. Both actresses deserve Oscar nominations but Anna delivers the best performance of the two. Just like Doubt, this is the one film of the year where the entire cast delivers Oscar worthy performances.
Jason Reitman is a director who I am really getting into now! First he gave us Juno which was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture back in 2007. Reitman has now created another masterpiece that is once again an Oscar favourite. He did more work on this one this time because he also co-wrote the script and produced it as well as directed it. Reitman is only 32 years old and he is probably the most talented young director of this generation. Reitman rightly deserves Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay which I'm sure he'll get anyway. The script was written beautifully! Definitely the winner for Best Adapted Screenplay for me!
Overall, Up In The Air is definitely one of the best films of 2009 that I would pick for Best Picture over favourite The Hurt Locker. It is both a film that should be taken seriously with top-notch acting, directing, writing etc but also a piece of entertainment that would be good on a weekend.
9/10
