This is sheer blasphemy but I 'll put it out there anyway.  I am not a fan of George Clooney. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I agreed with any movie reviewer who liked his performance in a film.  Yes, I appreciate that Clooney is charismatic, philanthropic and easy on the eyes but as a film goer, watching George Clooney play George Clooney just doesn’t do it for me.  Not at all . And so, while every other hot-blooded woman (and man) rushed to see him in his latest movie “Up in the Air”, I was tempted to skip it altogether.  But I ultimately didn’t.  And I am glad.

Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” is a terrific little film that remarkably does what no other film has ever done – make George Clooney play someone other than himself.   Ryan Bingham (or as I liked to call him, “the Un-George”) is a corporate hatchet man who flies around the country firing employees whose bosses are too cowardly to do the deed themselves.  Ryan loves his mercenary job – mostly because of the unfettered lifestyle of nonstop travel, hotel and airplane upgrades.  He is the consummate “island,” having no real home, family or personal connections.  As he reminds us throughout the film, he can pack up his entire life in a “backpack” – a talent he relishes and thrives off of.  His solitary, transient lifestyle is threatened, however, when a new employee, Natalie Keener, devises a system of employee termination via video conferencing, which would eliminate the need for Bingham to travel anywhere.  The film tracks the mounting tension as Bingham brings Keener along on his travels to educate Keener on the nuances of industrial capital punishment and why his own job should be spared.  Along the way, Bingham gets involved with Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), Bingham’s equivalent (except with a vagina, as she puts it).  Bingham’s relationship with both women – one professional and one personal – becomes the central catalyst for Bingham’s own self-awakening and growth.

The story of a disconnected corporate guy who realizes that no man should be an island is hardly novel.  Yet Reitman makes the story refreshingly new and relevant through fine performances and a smart script.  Clooney, as I said, really acts in this film and he is believable.  Farmiga is memorable as his romantic doppleganger and Keener is simply charming as Bingham’s young, idealistic sidekick.  Plus, Reitman’s brilliant idea to use actual laid-off employees to fill in the termination scenes gives the film a depth and resonance rarely seen in the world of corporate lay-offs.   Evidently these real life casualties of layoffs were asked to come back and be filmed responding the way they wished they had responded at the time the hatchet had actually come down.  The rawness and reality of those moments are haunting and powerful.

The central premise of the film – that connection and complication define what it means to be a grown-up - is an important theme in this movie and is excellently delivered through this quiet and thoughtful drama.  It made me rethink my earlier preconceptions of Clooney who, as an actor, seems to have grown up too.