'Up in the Air' reflects nation's current economic turbulence2009-12-06
Funny and moving, the film -- which has some interesting connections to metro Detroit -- is being praised for its timeliness.
It's a movie that makes you think about important journeys, and not just the kind you take in a plane. Just ask "Up in the Air" director Jason Reitman, 32, about the many years he spent working on the screenplay inspired by the 2001 novel by Walter Kirn.
"When I first started writing it, I was a single guy living in an apartment. By the time I was finished, I was married, I was a father, I had a mortgage," he says in a recent phone interview.
"What started out as a movie about a man who fired people became a movie about a guy who was trying to figure out who and what he wanted in his life. It did change over time."
In "Up in the Air," George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a city-hopping corporate downsizer who revels in the generic comforts of planes, hotels and rental cars.
But Bingham's detached routine takes some compelling turns when two women enter his life: a beautiful fellow frequent flyer (Vera Farmiga) and a young efficiency expert (Anna Kendrick) with a high-tech plan that could make his traveling ways obsolete.
Reitman, who also helmed "Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking," says that the economic crisis "definitely added weight and gravity to the film."
When asked about the good reviews the movie is getting, he says that it's certainly nicer than when people don't like his work. He's also modest when the topic turns to Clooney's performance, which some consider the best of the actor's career. (The National Board of Review recently gave its best actor honors to Clooney and Morgan Freeman of "Invictus.")
"He takes complete ownership over his brilliance," Reitman says of the star. "I would say that one thing that this role has that separates it from the rest of his career is a true sense of vulnerability."
The cast and crew shot scenes in late February at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Reitman says what brought him here was "the tax credit in Michigan -- so I really hope you guys hold on to that, because that helps movies like this get made -- but in addition to that, it's that gorgeous airport that you spent a fortune on."
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