Up in the Air

Maybe it's just the way Up in the Air was filmed but I am now under the belief that the airport is the loneliest place in the world. During the opening as we see the bird's eye view from the plane window flying is distant. Flying is a hassle. Maybe its the uncomfortable plush seats or the fact that there is almost a impossible measures required to pass security. So for someone who has mastered this complicated dance that is the airport, you know their condition is less than perfect. George Clooney's character flies so many flights in one year for his soul-killing job to fire people. Several montages occur showing Clooney firing people of a broad spectrum, those who go crazy and those who silently think of suicide. It's a nasty business. The raw emotion felt by these people who feel like assets to the company compared to the surprising coolness of Clooney shows us the disconnect he has to the outside world. His world contains one suitcase, one suit, a plush seat and frequent flier miles out the wazoo. Its a confined space designed for one to get from here to there but his character doesnt stay long enough in one place to get anywhere. He is a constant road map, endless and complicated. During a stop in a bar he meets Vera Farmiga's character. Their relationship buds out of an insatiable lust for power. While at first it starts as a fling, Clooney eventually falls hard for her. Only to be broken and rendered irreparable. Thats the thing towards the end, he tries to find some means of a life and ends up the same lonely person we saw at the beginning.
The introduction of video-conferencing as the new method of firing people, thought up by the young business woman played by Anna Kendrick, threatens clooney's existance. There would be no more flights, and he would be forced to return to his extremely white apartment which lacks any character. After a flight trip to show Anna's character Natalie the ropes, the world comes crashing down around Clooney. His sisters wedding allows him the chance to re-connect with old family, who either dont remember him or just disregard him. When he expresses interest in walking his sister down the aisle he comes to find out that the fiancee's uncle will already be doing it. Plus when he wishes to experience true companionship with Vera Farmiga, he learns of her family and her exploits to use him for a good time. One of the final scenes is him looking upon a giant posterboard filled with pictures of the cardboard cut-out couple (His sister) all around the world. The look on his face says it all. Its not where you have been but who you have been there with. Which in his case would be no one, and for the rest of his life....no one. Loneliness catches up to him at the resolution of the movie painting the picture of the lack of soul in the careers chosen everyday.