Up in the Air (2009)

“Up in the Air” may not quite be the best movie of 2009, but it is the best movie about 2009. Director Jason Reitman, fresh off “Thank You for Smoking” and “Juno,” delivers a dark comedy/drama/satire martini that burns deeper and harder than his two previous efforts combined by showing just how far off course America has become. Its witty banter is the floating olive.

George Clooney – never better, and that’s saying a lot – plays Ryan Bingham, a professional hatchet man. He doesn’t lob off heads as in “Sleepy Hollow.” He destroys the livelihoods and jobs of thousands of Americans year in/year out. He works for an Omaha- based company that is hired by other companies that don’t have the balls to lay-off their own employees in person. Hellish? Hardly. For Ryan, no greater joy comes from swiping a hotel access key card or packing a suitcase. Well, there is one: His own voice. Ryan is an inspiration speaker who encourages his audiences to ditch homes, cars, family albums, friends and family itself. They weigh you down, he says. And if you’re slowed by weight, you die.

It’s apparent from the start that Ryan is due for a wake-up call not given by the front desk. This comes in the guise of two women: A lover and a potential protégé. The first is a fellow air travel addict played by Vera Farmiga (“The Departed”). Her Alex tells Ryan, “I’m you, but with a vagina.” The second is a young up-and-comer (Anna Kendrick) at the Omaha office that has a grand idea: Why not fire people on Web cam. If it saves money, it must be good. Ryan makes it his mission to teach this woman the ropes and save his own “life” (job) as he knows it.

It’s a double joke that the company is headquartered in Omaha. It’s the heart of America, and yet hell for anyone with a love of fast, large cities. (Can you blame Ryan for never wanting to remain there?) But that’s not the film’s clincher. In a documentary-like move Reitman has ordinary Americans who really have lost their jobs appear on screen to vent, yell and weep.

“Up in the Air” is shot full of hot blood, depicting a country that marks success by the bottom line and stock prices, where brand loyalty has become a full religion. That every character, line, joke and shock is rendered perfectly is a treat. That Clooney makes Ryan actually likable and a person to root for … well, I can only say “wow.” So, wow.

Stay for the end credits: A laid-off man contributed a song – recorded on an old cassette player (you can hear the beautiful hiss) – about the pain of losing a job and being lost “Up in the Air.” Bitter, angry and hopeful, the song is like a second martini to knock you flat. A