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Since so many people have been laid off or experienced stress in the workplace, a movie like Up in the Air is one that will probably resonate well with current moviegoers due to the economic downturn we experienced in the last couple of years. The prominent layoffs occurring in this movie are mostly due to technological advances, and the key character is Ryan (George Clooney), a man who is an expert in layoffs. He flies all over the place to help companies lay off their employees in a professional, neutral, and helpful manner; apparently their human resources departments aren't very qualified. He often gives people the line, "Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now. And it's because they sat there that they were able to do it." The fact that he believes this line can potentially comfort or placate a layofee (that's my new word) shows how, though he is a professional, he is out of touch with the common man.

As Ryan shares more of his life with the audience, it is no wonder he is out of touch - he has essentially cut himself off from all significant human interaction. He owns an apartment that he never visits, barely communicates with his own family, and finds significance in his knowledge and acquisition of the elite privileges his frequent travel provides. He gives motivational speeches about how people are, basically, just baggage that way us down, and prides himself in how he can pack his entire life in a carry-on (or backpack).

But of course, this movie wouldn't be significant if Ryan didn't learn what's meaningful in life. Two women enter his life - one who is following him on his job and analyzing his process, and one who he meets at a bar and casually meets up with to have sex once in a while. The former promises to make his job and travel (all that makes him significant or matters to him) obsolete. The latter shares all the same values and requires no commitment, which attract him to her enough to shatter his views of relationships.

For the watchers of the future, Up in the air will probably serve as a time capsule of this day and age - a time when the human element of business went somewhat astray, a time when people lost their jobs because machines could do them, and a time when America was experiencing a high level of layoffs due to financial crisis (although, let's be adult enough to admit that the crisis was self-started). I really liked where the movie went in exploring these ideas, as well as what brings value to a person's life.

George Clooney and Vera Farmiga are so good together in this movie, and the way their relationship plays out is exactly as I thought it would be, and exactly what it should be to actually make an impact on the audience. For a while there, it almost felt as if the movie was going to veer into romantic comedy territory, but this really isn't a RomCom at all.

At about the halfway point of Up in the Air, I sat back and wondered why everyone was raving about this movie as one of the best of the year. It was pleasant and clever enough, but didn't provide any emotional pull, social significance, or moral/ethical relevance for me. But somehow, in the middle of a quaint family wedding crisis and the cutthroat business world, everything pulled together and I fell for it. I'll have to keep thinking about this one to decide where it will go in my 2009 list, but I would definitely recommend it to my peers (family, maybe not so much).