Up in the Air is a film about a good man whose unique skillset traps him in a morally questionable profession. It's about being groundless, only loosely tethered to yourself, or to the Earth. And the movie only really missteps in the third act, ironically at the point where the film steps away from the hotels and airports into Bingham's personal life for a little Capra-esque redemption. While some degree of reconnection is inevitable for the character, this portion of the film feels the most forced, the least natural, but a rather surprising turn toward the end leaves the movie with an ambiguous, though satisfying, conclusion. Driven by Clooney's charismatic portrayal of a broken, disconnected man, Reitman's film is as moving as it is hilarious, filled with airport innuendo that travelers will no doubt recognize and brimming with human observations that make this a character piece to see.
