As part of the TRAVELS & TRAVAILS series:

Up in the Air

2009, 109 minutes

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate consultant who seems to live in the air high above rustbelt America­--descending to earth to fire employees and offer motivational talks about living an unattached life. He is charming, confident, and very comfortable with his place in the new economy. As he whisks his way through one airline terminal after another, he encounters another frequent flyer played by a radiant Vera Farmiga, and the two effortlessly flirt their way into an affair. At the same time, Ryan’s company asks him to oversee an ambitious new hire (Anna Kendrick), whose ideas for streamlining the termination process makes Ryan’s method seem fraternal by comparison. This film offers a perfect role for George Clooney, an actor who has a knack for conveying not just cool and capable, but also an essential decency that finds a way to surface in Ryan Bingham’s character.

Please Note--This film is RATED R, with drinking, profanity, nudity, sexuality, threatening behavior, and lots of people on the receiving end of corporate downsizing.