I finally got around to watching Up in the Air, one of last year's Oscar nominees. Coming into it, I'd heard mixed reviews, chiefly disagreements with the message and criticism of Anna Kendrick's acting, so it was difficult not to look for those exact things as I watched. Nonetheless, the movie moved me as a movie should.
I'll dispense at the onset with my impressions of the actors' performances. Clooney and Farmiga were great, with great chemistry and, save Clooney's star recognizability, believability. Kendrick's performance was at times overdone and forced, but considering her character was supposed to be overdone and forced, I'd say she did her job well.
As for the message, by the time Ryan (Clooney) is telling his cold-footed brother-in-law-to-be about how every pilot needs a co-pilot to get through a flight, I'd started feeling very sentimental. It had been just over a week since I broke off my last attempt at dating and deleted my Facebook account, so in many ways, I was making the same choices that Ryan made throughout. By the time he decided he wanted to have emotional attachments to people, he had been detached so long that there was no one to go back to. It forced me to consider the human need for companionship to the point that even the hermits of old had God as a companion. Yet, invisible friends and fantasy only go so far. I will be reconsidering much because of this film.
In summation, this is officially a comedy, and it does bring some excellent laughs. The pace is quick, the dialogue excellent, and the acting largely terrific. It deserved its Oscar nomination and, to a degree, some of its criticism. Nonetheless, check it out.
I'll dispense at the onset with my impressions of the actors' performances. Clooney and Farmiga were great, with great chemistry and, save Clooney's star recognizability, believability. Kendrick's performance was at times overdone and forced, but considering her character was supposed to be overdone and forced, I'd say she did her job well.
As for the message, by the time Ryan (Clooney) is telling his cold-footed brother-in-law-to-be about how every pilot needs a co-pilot to get through a flight, I'd started feeling very sentimental. It had been just over a week since I broke off my last attempt at dating and deleted my Facebook account, so in many ways, I was making the same choices that Ryan made throughout. By the time he decided he wanted to have emotional attachments to people, he had been detached so long that there was no one to go back to. It forced me to consider the human need for companionship to the point that even the hermits of old had God as a companion. Yet, invisible friends and fantasy only go so far. I will be reconsidering much because of this film.
In summation, this is officially a comedy, and it does bring some excellent laughs. The pace is quick, the dialogue excellent, and the acting largely terrific. It deserved its Oscar nomination and, to a degree, some of its criticism. Nonetheless, check it out.
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