THE AMERICAN featurette about George Clooney is more enticing than the trailer
Aug 10
I wasn’t too fond of the first trailer for George Clooney‘s upcoming suspense thriller The American. It took me a couple of viewings to find something worth hanging out for, and how many people would give an average trailer that many chances?
Focus Features have released a pretty decent featurette (as far as featurettes go) detailing some background trivia behind the scenes of the film, including comments from co-star and love interest Violante Placido. It also focuses heavily on Clooney and tries to paint him as a fun-loving, hard-working versatile actor. Like we didn’t know that already, right?
If you can get past the deep-voice trailer guy informing you of the finer details every other second, this is worth checking out. I’ve also included the new poster below.
The American is directed by Anton Corbijn and hits U.S. screens 1 September 2010.
Master craftsman George Clooney in THE AMERICAN trailer
May 04
The trailer for George Clooney’s upcoming suspense thriller The American might have you comparing it to James Bond. It’s okay, it’s only natural– after all, it’s about a suave ‘master craftsman’ (instead of a spy) who appears to get the ladies and sip latte (instead of martinis) while on the job in foreign territory. Yet, having read a little deeper and given the trailer a second watch, I’m actually starting to build higher hopes for this.
Besides the title (which I assume will resonate better having seen the film) the trailer depicts an intense, dialogue-driven plot that threatens to search the soul of existence and manhood. Hopefully Focus Features continue to market it that way and don’t pretend it’s a Bond-style action film that might leave audiences disappointed. Public Enemies comes to mind, for example. As does Inglourious Basterds, for those who had never witnessed a Taranatino movie and expected wall-to-wall action like the trailer suggested.
Interested to know more about the plot? I’ll paste the synopsis below the trailer. Directed by Anton Corbijn, The American is due for release 1 September 2010. No Australian dates have been announced yet.
Academy Award winner George Clooney stars in the title role of this suspense thriller, filmed on location in Italy. Alone among assassins, Jack (Clooney) is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry (Bruce Altman) that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. The assignment, as specified by a Belgian woman, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), is in the offing as a weapon is constructed. Surprising himself, Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues romance with local woman Clara (Iolante Placido). But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
Thoughts on a ground-breaking Oscars ceremony (82nd Academy Awards)
Mar 08
It used to be that I’d have to endure a media blockout through an entire Monday so I could enjoy the Oscars telecast. As it happens live on a Sunday night in the States, it’s actually around 10AM Monday morning in Australia, and in the past the TV network screening the event wouldn’t do so until the prime time slot later that evening, usually 8 or 9 pm. This meant having to avoid all computers, internet, radio, TV — even friendly text messages from some clueless friends– lest the surprise of who won what be spoiled before I could actually sit down and watch the show.
This year, thankfully, the 82nd Academy Awards were beamed to our shores live in the morning and I was able to kick back on the couch with some hot coffee and toast for breakfast and enjoy the show.
It was tough explaining to my two year old son that he couldn’t watch his cartoons today because Daddy was watching a special show about movies winning awards. My 11 month old was clueless and used the opportunity of me being distracted to get into anything he wasn’t supposed to– drawers, kitchen cupboards, the fridge… you name it. The Oscars are a completely different experience when you’re also running around after two little ones. But there was no way I was missing this telecast!
Neil Patrick Harris opening the show with a surprise musical number did nothing for me. I don’t like that guy much– but he did do an okay job.
I have been looking forward to Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin hosting the show since it was announced last year. No doubting they would deliver some great comedy, they certainly delivered, albeit with the occasional misstep along the way. Steve Martin won the night with his perfectly timed wise-cracks, and Baldwin’s stare-down with George Clooney was a nice touch. Made me think how great it would be to have Clooney guest-appear on 30 Rock.
Speaking of 30 Rock, the best presenters by far were Tina Fey and Robert Downey Jr. who presented the award for Best Original Screenplay. Their comical bit about writers -vs- actors is definitely a keeper. Great pairing. If only they had read out the correct name for the winner — I feel it should have gone to Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds. But hey, it was a Hurt Locker night.
‘Basterds’ did at least pick up one award and was probably the most deserving award of all the categories. Christoph Waltz winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as The Jew Hunter was a great way to start the show, and ignited a small feeling of victory inside me… perhaps bcause deep-down I somehow knew that would be all the awards ‘Basterds’ was getting. Christoph’s speech was equally winning, but it wasn’t the best of the night. That recognition arguably went to Mo’Nique after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Precious. “I’d like to thank the Academy for awarding the performance and not the politics.” Take that.
I normally enjoy the In Memoriam section of the show and get a little teary when I think about the great talent that has come and gone. Especially as an old-school Michael Jackson fan, it was great seeing him be represented for his small work with motion pictures. This year the section seemed hurried and under-done. Patrick Swayze was the first Actor shown on the screens while James Taylor sang live beneath the images, but there was hardly enough time to take it in and reflect before the montage hurried on. I didn’t notice the absence of Farrah Fawcett personally, I only read about it afterwards. But that is one pretty horrible oversight by the Academy (that is, unless the family opted for the recognition to be omitted.)
There was a fantastic video package that paid homage to horror movies. Unfortunately I only got several clips into it before I realised my boy was watching and I needed to get him out the room or change channel real quick. I’ll have to find it online at a later date (or watch the delayed replay). From what I saw, it looked great. Nice to see horror as a genre getting a mention at the Oscars, and nice to see The Exorcist get a couple of nods in there, too — I sure hope An American Werewolf In London was featured.
Like last year, the stage was lined with fellow actors (in this case, co-stars) who briefly spoke personally about each nominee in the Best Actor and Actress categories before the winners were announced (Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart and Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side). I’m a fan of this format. I like that it helps the categories stand out from the rest I like how it’s more formal and often insightful. Yes, it takes longer, but it’s worth it– plus the building of tension never hurts.
I hope next year Pixar don’t win Best Animated Feature. You know, just to mix it up and keep them on their toes. UP was okay and all, but hardly top-shelf Pixar stuff.
Seeing Cameron’s face sitting behind ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow as The Hurt Locker picked up it’s six awards was priceless. Especially as it beat Avatar to the ‘big ones’– Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing. The time was right for Bigelow to be the first woman in Oscar history to win Best Director. It wasn’t a consolation prize. It wasn’t awarded ‘just because’. The Hurt Locker truly deserves the kudos it received from the Academy and Bigelow certainly deserves her Oscar. On a night where the art of motion pictures is honoured, I feel like they got it right. If Most Box Office Takings were a category, we know what would have won– and Avatar already has won in the ‘real world’, like it or not. But those cracking a sook over how the Academy could overlook a film that is the highest grossing of all time need to back away and look at the whole picture. It’s not just about which films the public likes best — it’s about which films have artistic merit and honour the craft of filmmaking accordingly. Avatar may look spectacular, but in terms of raw performance and honesty on the screen, The Hurt Locker is your winner. And now, that’s a fact.
Here’s a list of all the winners on the night:
Actor in a Leading Role
** Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in Invictus
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
** Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Actress in a Leading Role
** Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Carey Mulligan in An Education
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
** Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Animated Feature Film
Coraline Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog John Musker and Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells Tomm Moore
** Up Pete Docter
Art Direction
** Avatar Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
Nine Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
Cinematography
** Avatar Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon Christian Berger
Costume Design
Bright Star Janet Patterson
Coco before Chanel Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Monique Prudhomme
Nine Colleen Atwood
** The Young Victoria Sandy Powell
Directing
Avatar James Cameron
** The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Inglourious Basterds Quentin Tarantino
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Lee Daniels
Up in the Air Jason Reitman
Documentary (Feature)
Burma VJ Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
** The Cove Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
Food, Inc. Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home Rebecca Cammisa
Documentary (Short Subject)
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
** Music by Prudence Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
Rabbit à la Berlin Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra
Film Editing
Avatar Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
District 9 Julian Clarke
** The Hurt Locker Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Joe Klotz
Foreign Language Film
Ajami Israel
The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada) Peru
A Prophet (Un Prophète) France
** The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) Argentina
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) Germany
Music (Original Score)
Avatar James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes Hans Zimmer
** Up Michael Giacchino
Music (Original Song)
Almost There from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Down in New Orleans from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Loin de Paname from Paris 36 Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
Take It All from Nine Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
** The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Best Picture
Avatar James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
The Blind Side Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
District 9 Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
An Education Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
** The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
Inglourious Basterds Lawrence Bender, Producer
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
A Serious Man Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
Up Jonas Rivera, Producer
Up in the Air Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Short Film (Animated)
French Roast Fabrice O. Joubert
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) Javier Recio Gracia
** Logorama Nicolas Schmerkin
A Matter of Loaf and Death Nick Park
Short Film (Live Action)
The Door Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
Instead of Abracadabra Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
Kavi Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
** The New Tenants Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Sound Editing
Avatar Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
** The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson
Inglourious Basterds Wylie Stateman
Star Trek Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Up Michael Silvers and Tom Myers
Sound Mixing
Avatar Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
** The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Inglourious Basterds Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
Star Trek Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson
Visual Effects
** Avatar Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
District 9 Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
Star Trek Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
District 9 Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education Screenplay by Nick Hornby
In the Loop Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
** Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Writing (Original Screenplay)
** The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds Written by Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarth
BAFTA awards snub AVATAR, earn my respect
Feb 23
Ah, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts: Britain’s answer to the Academy Awards. I don’t think I know any people who speak of the BAFTAs (or the Golden Globes, for that matter) when comparing the calibre and critical worth of films; it’s always the Oscars that everyone talks about ten years after the fact. But the Oscars are weird and unpredictable, especially when it comes to Best Picture and Best Director, where the Academy feels obliged to honour a director because he “deserves it after all these years,” not necessarily because his latest movie is the best of the year (see Scorsese’s 2006 win for The Departed). I don’t know how the BAFTAs are decided, but the results make sense to me, so I’m starting to warm up to these weird little golden faces.
The fact that Avatar was even nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for the BAFTAs made me roll my eyes; it’s like these awards are obliged to recognise James Cameron regardless of what he’s putting out, since the mammoth awards haul he pulled in for Titanic back in the day. Sure it’s nice that dull period dramas and depressing character studies aren’t dominating the awards this year, but it makes you wonder if academies like BAFTA aren’t just bowing to public demand rather than recognising genuine critical worth.
But what’s this? The results of the BAFTAs rolled around on my birthday, and Britain’s gift to me was to snub Cameron’s juggernaut jungle-smurf epic in favour of the taut and brutal war flick The Hurt Locker. Thanks, mate, this definitely beats the socks you sent me last year! I don’t know how the BAFTA awards are decided, but it seems like there are seem free-thinking people on the panel, that’s for sure.
The Hurt Locker snatched Best Picture from Avatar and Up In The Air (thank god), while Best Director was given to Kathryn Bigelow over James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino (for his Inglorious Basterds). I hope Bigelow’s sex wasn’t an important criterion to the panel of judges — it would be condescending to give it to her just because she made a good movie despite being a woman (like that’s some kind of artistic handicap). Sure the industry is dominated by men, and it’s great to see a lady show the blokes how it’s done, but I’d prefer the woman to be honoured for her work, not for the fact that she’s “up there” with the men.
The winning streak didn’t end there, though. The Hurt Locker also waltzed away with Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, going against Avatar and District 9 in all three categories. Inglourious Basterds was also in the running for Cinematography and Editing, but Quentin Tarantino’s latest love-it-or-hate-it love letter to film didn’t go home empty handed: Christoph Waltz nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his charming / chilling portrayal of Nazi nutjob Hans Landa, a role for which he truly deserves such recognition.
A little focus was put on the British industry, too. A movie called “Fish Tank” won Outsanding British Film, but I’d never heard of the flick till I read the BAFTAs results. An Education was all over the nominations, and won Best Lead Actress for Carey Mulligan’s performance in the film. Duncan Jones won Outsanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer for his brilliant Moon. I reckon Moon should have been up there in the Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and at the very least Best Lead Actor categories, especially as Avatar and District 9 got noms in these directions. Sam Rockwell’s performance(s) in Moon is brilliant and integral to the film as a whole, indicative of the genius involved at all levels — script, direction and production. But I guess the movie was too indie, too “genre” to be recognised in such a way.
Avatar didn’t leave without its candy: Best Production Design and Best Special Visual Effects are probably the two awards Avatar most deserves. The fact that Avatar was even in the running for Best Cinematography bugs me a little, though. Sure the tech is new and boundaries were pushed, but the movie’s 90% cartoon; you may as well nominate Up and The Fantastic Mr Fox if you’re going to play that game. Up In The Air got the Best Adapted Screenplay gong, which is a shame, because the writers will now be encouraged to rest on their laurels and continue to put out flabby, faux-sophisticated scripts, rather than pushing themselves in new, challenging directions.
So anyway, those are my rambling thoughts on the BAFTAs. I think, by and large, the awards have been delivered to the right doorsteps. I wish Moon and District 9 had gotten some wins, but I’m glad something serious but fun won the big gongs. This also gets my hopes up for the Oscars. I really hope Avatar doesn’t sweep them like it did the Globes, and if the yanks’ Academy is anything like the poms’, we might actually see some justice come March 7.
What are your thoughts? Reckon Avatar should’ve got the gongs over The Hurt Locker? Has anyone even seen An Education or Precious? Can you vouch for their quality? We’d love to hear what you think!
Full list of categories, with winners in orange:
BEST FILM
- Avatar
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Precious
- Up in the Air
LEADING ACTOR
- Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
- George Clooney (Up in the Air)
- Colin Firth (A Single Man)
- Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
- Andy Serkis (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll)
LEADING ACTRESS
- Carey Mulligan (An Education)
- Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones)
- Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
- Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
- Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Alec Baldwin (It’s Complicated)
- Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles)
- Alfred Molina (An Education)
- Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
- Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy)
- Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
- Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
- Mo’Nique (Precious)
- Kristin Scott Thomas (Nowhere Boy)
OUTSANDING BRITISH FILM
- An Education
- Fish Tank
- In the Loop
- Moon
- Nowhere Boy
OUTSANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
- Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock, David Pearson (directors, producers – Mugabe And The White African)
- Eran Creevy (writer/director – Shifty)
- Stuart Hazeldine (writer/director – Exam)
- Duncan Jones (director – Moon)
- Sam Taylor-Wood (director – Nowhere Boy)
DIRECTOR
- James Cameron (Avatar)
- Neill Blomkamp (District 9)
- Lone Scherfig (An Education)
- Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
- Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- The Hangover (Jon Lucas, Scott Moore)
- The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
- Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
- A Serious Man (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
- Up (Bob Peterson, Pete Docter)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell)
- An Education (Nick Hornby)
- In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche)
- Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher)
- Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner)
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- Broken Embraces
- Coco Before Chanel
- Let the Right One In
- A Prophet
- The White Ribbon
ANIMATED FILM
- Coraline
- Fantastic Mr Fox
- Up
MUSIC
- Avatar (James Horner)
- Crazy Heart (T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton)
- Fantastic Mr Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Chaz Jankel)
- Up (Michael Giacchino)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Avatar
- District 9
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- The Road
EDITING
- Avatar
- District 9
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Up in the Air
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- Avatar
- District 9
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
- Inglourious Basterds
COSTUME DESIGN
- Bright Star
- Coco Before Chanel
- An Education
- A Single Man
- The Young Victoria
SOUND
- Avatar
- District 9
- The Hurt Locker
- Star Trek
- Up
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
- Avatar
- District 9
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- The Hurt Locker
- Star Trek
MAKEUP & HAIR
- Coco Before Chanel
- An Education
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
- Nine
- The Young Victoria
SHORT ANIMATION
- The Gruffalo
- The Happy Duckling
- Mother of Many
SHORT FILM
- 14
- I Do Air
- Jade
- Mixtape
- Off Season
THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- Jesse Eisenberg
- Nicholas Hoult
- Carey Mulligan
- Tahar Rahim
- Kristen Stewart
UP IN THE AIR never really soars: review
Jan 24
George Clooney is just one of those guys you can depend on: call it predictable, call it a lack of versatility, but Clooney nails that old-fashioned / modern / classy triumvirate in every single film he’s in. If that’s a style you buy into, he has a nice long filmography for you to browse to your heart’s content, to which you can blindly add his latest outing. If, however, you got sick of Clooney’s schtick circa Ocean’s 11, prepare to be bemused as his snappy, crisp delivery is shoehorned into an already strange mish-mash of bubblegum profundity, black humour and annoying characters, otherwise known as Up In The Air, to predictably muddled results.
For the sake of full disclosure, I loathed Juno. The main problem was the dialogue. I abhor that hip, post-modern, snarky sarcasm that passes for wit in American pop culture. I hated it in Buffy in the 90s and I hate it today. I saw potential in Juno‘s failures, and looked forward with interest to director Jason Reitman’s (son of Ivan) next, but for some reason when I saw the bland poster for Up In The Air, and heard that Clooney would be headlining, my interest in the film immediately plummeted. Then all the rave reviews started gushing in like so much overzealous molasses, to the point that I was certain Up In The Air could never live up to the saccharine hype.
I was right. Up In The Air tries to be about three movies at once, goes on for at least an hour too long, lacks any empathetic (or even plain amusing) characters, and ends up feeling like a puddle-shallow attempt at pop philosophy jammed awkwardly into a small, ugly box marked “MATURE, HONEST.” I tried to stay with this film, but it lost me about halfway through, and I couldn’t for the life of me get back on. There is a pivotal scene somewhere in the second act that throws out every single frame that came before, and it was at that point that I realised there was no way I could love this film, or even really enjoy it.
At first it gives the impression that it’s gonna be one of those old-dog / young-upstart buddy movies where the upstart teaches the old dog some new tricks and everybody goes home feeling warm and fuzzy. There is some snappy dialogue, some awkward and depressing rapid-fire interview-type scenes that set up Clooney’s character’s world, and everything seems to be going okay. But then a lot of things happened that annoyed me.
First of all, there is something about Anna Kendrick’s delivery that just jars with me. Maybe it’s because I can’t help but remember her in New Moon, but any scene with her in it feels awkward and strange. Then there’s the films frivolous treatment of a devastating real-life problem in modern society — the colossal American cock-up that was (and still is) the global financial crisis. Are we supposed to laugh at all the people getting laid off in rapid succession by Clooney’s dismissive douche-for-hire? I’d like to think not. And then there’s the film’s pornographic representation of affluence and the free-floating, devil-may-care lifestyle employed by Clooney’s character. Sure these things are half-assedly dealt with by the end, but for the rest of the film they are just annoying and distracting.
The middle third is aimless, repetitious and overlong. A movie like this needs to move along at a brisk pace, but that middle just drags, especially once it derails itself at the aforementioned pivotal jetty scene. The last third is even worse, cascading into a never-ending series of completely random and strange events barely hinted at anywhere else in the film. Things just keep on happening, without any sense of emotional structure or logical reasoning. And it’s all presented with this pretentious sense of ironic pathos that is about as fun to swallow as a bucket of vinegar.
Okay, so this is George Clooney’s film. I’m struggling to remember the name of his character, let’s see if I get it before the end of this paragraph. Anyway, we’re supposed to follow him on some kind of journey, right? “Someone wants something very badly and is having difficulty getting it” — that’s a boiler-plate summary for every narrative ever invented, right? Okay. So Clooney’s character (the only name that pops to mind is Danny Ocean — argh!) starts out as a vacuous, wealth / convenience -obsessed professional asshole with zero moral compunction and very little in his corner for which a mainstream audience can root. Great, plenty of room for improvement. And, extrapolating from the film’s title, it’ll probably have something to do with touching back down to reality, talking to real people that really matter. So far, so good, except I still can’t remember his name.
The screenwriters throw Danny Ocean a bone in the form of kindred spirit Vera Farmiga, who apparently leads a somewhat similar lifestyle to Mr Ocean and is therefore required by movie law to have sex with him. After that happens, Danny Ocean’s young, annoying protege (Anna Kendrick again) urges him to settle down and actually connect with this person, so Danny Ocean tries just that. I predicted early on — avert your eyes, incredibly mild spoiler alert — that Farmiga was married with kids, so the scene in which Danny Ocean shows up on her doorstep in a cock-headed attempt to connect with someone lands with a wet thump in the frazzled mess of my consciousness, already drawn thin by the complete lack of emotional connection or sense of originality latent in the rest of the film. The guy has a very simple character trajectory to follow, from bad to good, emotional rags to riches, but he still manages to get it wrong. Go back to robbing casinos or something.
I think the reason I failed to connect with this film was just an unfortunate covalescence of a whole bunch of textures and themes I just don’t really care about at this point in my life. The way the main characters consider their awful jobs important, meaningful and fulfilling is completely alienating to me, as is the way they (I mean Danny Ocean — Girl From Twilight tries vainly to represent me in this) wantonly abandon any social obligations in favour of leading disgusting, vacuous lives. The way JK Simmons, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride and Sam Elliot show up randomly and trivially and play dead-boring, trying-for-funny-and-falling-flat nobodies who only serve to underline preciesly how empty and distant the actual protagonist is. The way the movie goes for well over two hours and still doesn’t reach any conclusion beyond some vague “MATURE” navel-gazing self-righteous moralising.
Don’t get me wrong, there are good aspects to this film, I just can’t remember them right now. Oh, Vera Farmiga brings a kind of sophisticated weight to her character, I guess. There are a couple of good jokes in the script, well-delivered by Clooney. And, um … yeah, okay, the cinematography is pretty cool. And at least it’s not a sequel / prequel / remake / reboot / re-imagining of a previous film (it’s still a book-to-film adaptation, but that’s something I can handle). That’s all I can manage. The rest of the film was just scene after disjointed scene punctuated by vague, messy philosophy delivered with robot-like efficiency by a few soulless leads, the gist of which goes something like this:
Girl From Twilight - “You should stop flying around and connect with people, like your family, and maybe start a family of your own.”
Danny Ocean – “No, I’m such a tough guy I don’t need love.”
Girl From Twilight – “I implore you to reconsider.”
Danny Ocean – “Okay, hey Vera, I’m gonna deny the very likely possibility that you already have a life partner and family of your own and follow you like a lost puppy, do you mind?”
Vera Farmiga – “Sure, if you want, but bear in mind I already have a life partner and family of my own.”
Danny Ocean – “Oh. Shit. Never mind, then. I guess I was right all along. See you all later.”
Up In The Air score
28 / 100
OPINIONS COUNT