Up in the Air

Tonight I headed downtown to the Gateway to exchange a gift and catch a movie. After hitting up Barnes & Noble, then getting a gift for Elliett (it's her 7th birthday!) I settled into a viewing of Up in the Air. You may have heard about this film, as almost everyone and their dog has claimed it the best movie of 2009 (it's already won top prizes from The National Board of Review, New York Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, and been nominated for Golden Globes, SAG, and is a lock for multiple Oscar nominations). So naturally I was interested and had to see it.

While I liked the film, I can't quite see why everyone is so crazy about it. This is really the best film of the year? Really? The film is expertly done, with great cinematography and great shots, the acting is good, but where's the emotion. I felt sort of detached from what was going on; maybe that was the point, as the protagonist, played by George Clooney, lives a very detached life and even makes the rounds as a motivational speaker telling people to "empty their backpacks" and basically live committment and attachment-free lives. It's quite a sad message, and of course our main character spends the film figuring out if this is really the best way to live, culminating in a family member's wedding that he must save. There's another relationship in his life, with a female, that has so much buildup and chemistry that it ends rather disappointingly.

Perhaps this is the classic case of too much hype and excitement for a film meant there was no way it could live up to those expectations. That's definitely part of it, I think, but my love for Sherlock Holmes proves that sometimes a film can actually surpass those expectations.

So while I think this is a decent film, I really don't think it should be crowned the best of the year come Academy Award time. But really, the Academy could care less what I think and just really want George Clooney to be there.