A Movie Review: Up in the Air

"Up in the Air." This movie is technically about a guy who goes around and fires people because their bosses don't have the guts to do it themselves. I have to say I saw the movie in a different light. To me, this is a movie about relationships or lack of relationships. You have Ryan Bingham who lacks relationships. He is constantly traveling across the nation. His goal in life is to reach 10 million frequent flier miles. He has limited contact with his family. When he travels to Wisconsin for his sister's wedding, I got the distinct feeling that the family wasn't totally comfortable around him and perhaps even disdained him. On the other hand, his co-worker, Natalie Keener wants to have both a corporate career and still keep her relationships alive. Viewed from this angle, you even can say that the moments in the movie where they must fire people is about a relationship. The relationship between the corporation and the employees they are firing. The bosses are unable to face the people they must let go, some of whom have spent years with the company. The point of the movie, I believe, is that relationships are important. Even Ryan Bingham begins to understand this when he meets Alex Goran on one of his travels. They start to have a sexual relationship. Alex and Ryan have a connection, because both want to have a sexual relationship without the connections. Ryan begins to fall for her and decides to chase after her. But he finds out that she is married. Even Alex, the person who claims that she wants a disconnection relationship, actually feels the need for one.