Director Jason Reitman – son of Ivan (“Ghostbusters”) Reitman – shattered talk of nepotism with his debut feature, the sharp satire “Thank You For Smoking.”
After the young director’s third feature, “Up in the Air,” it’s more likely his father will be asking to leverage his son’s name for future gigs.
Working from Walter Kirn’s suddenly timely novel of the same name, Reitman conjures up a satisfying drama that offers a timely storyline with an Oscar showcase for its maturing lead, George Clooney.
Clooney plays Ryan Binghham, a mercenary of sorts who flies from city to city firing employees – all at the behest of their gutless employers.
He loves his gig, what with the frequent flier miles and lack of emotional ties.
But a new co-worker named Natalie (Anna Kendrick) could change all that. She’s proposed their company start firing people via video conferencing.
“There’s a dignity to the way I do it,” Ryan argues.
Before any major change takes place, their boss (Jason Bateman) assigns Ryan to take Natalie under his wing to show him how to fire people the right way.
The two start to open up to each other, and their relationship deepens when Ryan meets a fellow frequent flier (Vera Farmiga) who seems like his perfect match.
“Air” tells its story slowly, but the tart screenplay and whipsmart performances make the film anything but pokey. Clooney and Farmiga have palpable chemistry, and young Kendrick’s character starts off annoying and broadens and blossoms as the film marches on.
And then there’s Clooney, firing on both new and existing cylinders. He’s charming and aloof, romantic and a bit of a jerk
“I’m like my mother. I stereotype. It’s faster,” Ryan says while summing up his fellow travelers.
But you hang on his every phrase. It’s the best performance of his career, and proof you can learn to be a movie star on the job.
And Farmiga supplies the kind of mature, vibrant woman rarely scenes these days. She’s not a so-called “cougar” or a sexually aggressive “Sex and the City” type. She’s just a woman with needs that don’t fit the boilerplate.
Young Reitman, who co-wrote the screenplay, is officially three for three out of the gate with “Smoking,” “Juno” and now “Up in the Air.”
Let the Oscar race commence.
(Photo: George Clooney and Vera Farmiga flirt in the new Jason Reitman film “Up in the Air”/Paramount Pictures)
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