Up In The Air

I finally got the chance to see Up in the Air, and it didn't disappoint. It's not exactly my top film of the year, but it was quirky, funny, tragic, and all-around lovely.

George Clooney is great in it, playing a man who lays people off for a living. He's also the world's most efficient traveler, something I aspire to be. It's really the perfect movie to close out this first decade - both because of the economic times we're in and the realities of air travel. I think it actually makes quite a nice movie to summarize the early-2000's.

Clooney is a man with no emotional ties who comes to realize the value of having them. It's kind of tragic what he's missed out on, and how long it took him to realize he was missing people in his life. But I got the message of "better late than never" - what's the saying? "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"? This movie makes me buy into that crap.

But amongst the lonely tragedy that is this guy's life, there are cute moments and he has a great impact on a young co-worker. I think their relationship in the film is really lovely. At one point, it looks as though Clooney's character, his girlfriend (A woman close to his age! Shocker! For once they don't put Clooney with the 20-something!), and the co-worker make up this adorable little family. I really enjoyed the part of the movie where they were all together, the girl learning from this "other generation."

I like the movie because the ending and some of the things that happen are up to interpretation - you can see it as positive, or as negative. I was in a good mood, so I saw a message of positivity and hope, but my normal cynical self can easily argue the other side as well.