High in the Sky

I went to see Up In The Air a couple of days ago. I went alone, which is possibly the first time i've been to the cinema by myself, which is a slightly suprising realisation, but i'm putting it down to the social stigma and the fact i've never lived close enough to a cinema for a solo sojourn to be worth the effort. But with the Arts Centre cinema being barely a minutes walk from my hall and nobody available for accompaniment i went, plus it was the last day it was being shown. I sat right at the front, if you're anything over 6ft the front row is a godsend, just me and a jovial elderly couple, so it felt slightly like a family viewing experience. The place was pretty busy, more than two thirds full anyway, and the arts centre always draws a better crowd (as in less tracksuits and ringtones) than a commercial cinema. I also find the front row the most absorbing place to watch a film,, there's no silhouetted heads layed out in front of you, and there's nothing to separate or distract you from the film.
Up In The Air was a film I really appreciated, the two other Jason Reitman films I've seen, Juno and Thank You For Smoking, were both excellent, and while i hadn't seen anything in the trailers for Up In The Air that made it look especially inspiring I was confident he'd produce something watchable at least. Of his two previous films it bears most resemblance to TYFS, the main character is a successful and on the surface ruthless business character. That kind of yuppie ideal, perfect hair, suit, all-access airport cards etc. But George Clooney's character is less high profile than Eckharts in TYFS, undoubtedly more grounded. This film is more...realistic might be the word I'm looking for. More beleiveable than TYFS at least, which is an exaggerated satire. This film is primarily about individuals and emotions, as opposed to corporations, governments and society.
The style is noticeably Reitmans as soon as you see the font for the credits and hear the opening song. The soundtrack for the film is actually pretty obscure and small, which isn;t a bad thing. At least two of the artists on it have only just started releasing their music for dl from their own websites, which makes it quite astonishing that they would feature on a major motion picture. Clooneys character is a man with unconvential views on human relations, and is the author of a book about backpacks and want you have in them; ie human relationships, family, a home, car etc etc; and what you want to have in them; ie nothing. He basically fears being weighed down by any form of commitment and his employment sees him spend most of his year jetting between hotels in any city in america, where his task is to fire employees of companies on behalf of their cowardly bosses. Without wanting to describe any more of the plot in detail, it's essentially a look at the different ideas of relationships people have, primarily romantic but also with family, and how these people interact with each other and their conflicting ideals.
All the performances are aces, with Clooney the most approachable and understandable i've found him yet. Jason Bateman puts in an unusual performance as a not especially nice guy, and goes down well with it. The female characters posses depth and personality (something very rare in hollywood), not to mention attractive suaveness. The male characters in this film perhaps come across as the more vulnerable and incapable, which is pretty glorious to see. The plot is neither predictable nor implausible nor boring, and the shooting style and choice of songs are as always with Reitman, bang on. It's 3/3 so far for a director who is fast becoming my favourite.