REVIEW: Up in the Air

Up in the Air (2009): Dir. Jason Reitman. Written by: Sheldon Turner and Jason Reitman. Based on a novel by Walter Kim. Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick. Rated R (language and some sexual content). Running time: 109 minutes.

4 stars (out of four)

There’s a sense of exhilaration that comes with independence. Moving at your own pace, doing what you want to do, setting goals and accomplishing them without the help of others. Being on your own might be the only way to truly learn about yourself, to find your identity underneath the mess of personal, social, business and all other relationships. This philosophy is one shared by Ryan Bingham, whose motivational speeches encourage attendees to imagine their life in a backpack. The fewer things and people in the backpack, the faster you move. But there’s a blurred line between independence and loneliness not addressed in Bingham’s speech, and it is this line that Up in the Air examines.

Ryan Bingham, played with characteristic cockiness (or is it charm?) by George Clooney, works for a company that serves as the middleman for corporations across the country who seek to lay off their employees. Men and women like Bingham meet with the soon-to-be-terminated employees, inform them of their company’s decision and present them with a self-help packet of new opportunities available in life after the pink slip. Bingham has perfected his job to an art. He enjoys it. He loves the constant movement of traveling, informing us that he’s on the road over 300 days a year, and he’s a great talker. Bingham, from his brutal profession to his self-isolating ideology, has all the components of an immensely unlikable character, and yet we’re drawn to him, even admiring him for his calculated efficiency. Clooney’s casting is key and without it, the humorous asides, the self-congratulation and all of Bingham’s narration would fall flat. Director Jason Reitman understands the importance of casting a charming actor as his unlikable protagonist. Aaron Eckhart’s performance as a tobacco lobbyist in Reitman’s 2006 film, Thank You For Smoking, succeeds in making an otherwise despicable man a delight. Clooney’s performance isn’t anything new for him as an actor – Clooney knows a thing or two about turning up the charm – but the script allows for a more complex characterization than Danny Ocean. There’s truth in Bingham’s motivational speeches, but there’s more to him than his lecturing lets on.

These hidden layers start to reveal themselves with the help of Bingham’s two foils: Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), a fellow corporate travel addict who presents the possibility to Bingham of finding a soulmate, and young Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), a new employee at the company who steps on Bingham’s toes by suggesting the company go online to cut travel costs. Farmiga, whose fine performance in The Departed was overshadowed by that film’s stars, exudes a cool confidence in her early scenes with Clooney and gradually reveals real compassion. She brings more to the table than simply being the romantic interest by creating an honest portrayal of a businesswoman closing in on middle aged. Kendrick plays Natalie just under a caricature, balancing her ruthlessness with romantic naiveté as Bingham takes her under his wing to show her the ropes of the business. Jason Bateman proves himself reliable as always in a supporting role as Bingham’s boss, and character actors J.K. Simmons and Zach Galifianakis have memorable cameos as well in a scene apiece.

Much of the film’s success comes from Reitman’s style as a director. Every stylistic choice he makes enriches the themes and characters. He uses quick cuts as Bingham explains the packing process to emphasize his efficiency and moves the movie along at a brisk pace without sacrificing more tender scenes. Too often so-called “dramadies,” such as Up in the Air, treat the tone of a scene as falling in either the comedy camp or drama, and they lurch back and forth between the two genres until the movie ends. Reitman, however, understands the need to show how the two tones intertwine, crafting moments that are simultaneously humorous and poignant.

The film also makes good use of its soundtrack, using pop songs to underscore themes of travel and isolation. The opening title sequence, for example, pairs aerial photos with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings’ funkified version of “This Land Is Your Land” as a way of introducing Bingham’s pioneer attitude while providing an ironic introduction to corporate America’s industrialized land.

Some might argue that the film’s theme of downsizing and its topical references to a poor economic climate might keep the film from attaining a timeless status, but its emotional core remains the primary focus. Reitman creates a dialogue between Bingham’s backpack philosophy and the more romantic belief in the importance of building an emotional connection with another person. Up in the Air successfully gives us a capsule of our moment in time and shows us the humanity of it. And isn’t that what all films should do?

- Steve Avigliano, 12/30/09

REVIEW: Avatar

Avatar (2009): Written and Directed by James Cameron. Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, Michelle Rodriguez. Rated PG-13 (intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality and language). Running time: 161 minutes.

3 stars (out of four)

** Note: I saw the film in its IMAX 3D version at an AMC theater.

James Cameron has been a pioneer of computer effects since 1989’s The Abyss and each of his successive films, including Terminator 2 and Titanic, has brought the technology to new heights. Avatar is the next great leap forward, featuring the most sophisticated use of computer animation and motion-capture technology yet, the result of a labor of love that dates back to 1994. Unlike previous Cameron outings, however, the movie lacks a strong script. The consistently impressive visuals are not quite enough to keep the story from becoming underwhelming in its familiarity.

In Avatar’s distant future, the people of Earth have found their way to the forest moon of Pandora, where a mining operation is underway in pursuit of the unimaginatively titled mineral, unobtanium. Dr. Grace Augustine, played by Cameron-vet Sigourney Weaver, leads a research team to explore the world and communicate with the natives, big blue humanoids called the Na’vi. Her team remotely controls genetically created Na’vi imitations called Avatars to establish better relations with the alien race, but their peaceful efforts are continuously hindered by a military presence led by Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang). The Colonel’s brutal pep talk to his Marines consists of reminding them of their perpetual risk of death on Pandora. Caught between the two is disabled Marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who flies to Pandora after his deceased brother leaves a vacancy in the Avatar program. Sully’s recruitment is twofold, using his Avatar to learn about Na’vi culture, while also acquiring information regarding the location of unobtanium fields for Quaritch. It’s not long before Sully falls for Na’vi life and a Na’vi female (Zoe Saldaña), and suffers the moral conflict that comes with double agency.

The film’s plot, boiled down to its essentials is a familiar one, placing the emotional conflict of Dances With Wolves into a setting not unlike Return of the Jedi’s Endor, while preaching an environmental message much like that of Fern Gully. Though Cameron’s visual imagination in creating the alien world keeps the film from feeling stale, his script too often uses these borrowed elements as a crutch. One gets the impression that Cameron focused all his energy on the look of Pandora, leaving the story an assortment of used parts. The film’s most narratively interesting moments come in its midsection as Jake Sully struggles with issues of identity switching between his human body and Avatar counterpart. Worthington, who was a lifeless statue earlier this year in Terminator: Salvation, brings a compelling everyman quality to Sully in a heartfelt performance. Once Sully’s assimilation into the Na’vi tribe is complete, however, the script shifts onto the usual track, ending with a climatic battle against the humans for Pandora.

Aside from Sully, all of Avatar’s characters are archetypes except perhaps for Dr. Augustine, but Sigourney Weaver never manages to fully sell her character’s tougher side. Michelle Rodriguez appears as a Marine pilot, a strangely underdeveloped character considering the pivotal role she plays near the film’s end. Though the film runs long at 161 minutes, the narrative moves quickly, relying heavily on montages and condensed exposition. Cameron’s original cut of the film is said to have been well over 3 hours, and one wonders if the cut scenes would have strengthened its characters and pacing. While an extended running time might help, it would not rectify all of Avatar’s problems. Much of the film’s dialogue is clichéd and the ending features a deus ex machina bigger (in more ways than one) than Return of the King’s eagle saviors.

All of these concerns become moot, however, in Avatar’s visual presentation. More than once I was wowed by breathtaking panoramic shots, and the motion capture animation is thoroughly convincing at all times. Cameron crafts moments of sheer awe without ever flaunting his technology simply because he has the capability to. Like the Star Wars films, the visual effects stem from endless creativity in the shaping of a colorful, fully realized world. Avatar’s divergences into the life and culture of Pandora make up its most thrilling moments. Cameron provides several memorable action sequences, not the least of which is the final battle – both absorbing and gleefully over-the-top. Where other action films get queasy in their kinetic editing, Avatar features crisp cuts and remembers to engage the audience in the fun. That this is Cameron’s first non-documentary film since 1997 is a shame considering the multitude of disappointing action flicks that have passed through theaters in the last twelve years.

But the delay was not in vein, and Cameron has supposedly developed new types of digital cameras and 3D technology in preparation for Avatar’s release. As far as the 3D presentation of Avatar goes, I’m still not convinced that the trend is much more than a gimmick. While the gimmick is expertly used here, the uncomfortable glasses and the frequent jerkiness of the picture onscreen – most noticeable in dialogue scenes – remain distracting. The 3D experience attempts to immerse the audience in the action, but I found the extra dimension kept me at a distance from the film. I’m impressed enough by computer animation in two dimensions and, for me, using my two eyes alone remains the definitive way to watch a movie.

Nevertheless, Avatar is the result of supreme craftsmanship and, at the very least, will be remembered for its innovative and seamless use of computer animation. In this regard, Avatar earns placement next to other effects-laden epic films such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, but the film lacks the characters and story that make those films timeless. Then again, maybe Avatar will prove itself to be a worthy first installment of a longer franchise. Only time and another $300 million dollars will tell.

- Steve Avigliano, 12/27/09