Kenneth Turan of the '' Los Angeles Times '' wrote , " '' Up in the Air '' makes it look easy . Not just in its casual and apparently effortless excellence , but in its ability to blend entertainment and insight , comedy and poignancy , even drama and reality , things that are difficult by themselves but a whole lot harder in combination . This film does all that and never seems to break a sweat . " '' Entertainment Weekly '' Owen Gleiberman agreed , rating the film an A as a " rare and sparkling gem of a movie , directed by Jason Reitman with the polish of a master . " Claudia Puig of '' USA Today '' praised the film 's sense of timeliness , writing , " It 's tough to capture an era while it 's still happening , yet '' Up in the Air '' does so brilliantly , with wit and humanity ... Reitman emerges as a modern-day Frank Capra , capturing the nation 's anxieties and culture of resilience . " Stephen Saito of ''IFC.com '' wrote , " It touches on larger themes of mass unemployment , cultural alienation and technology as a crutch . But ultimately , it 's really an expertly done character study that 's a dramatic change of pace from director Jason Reitman 's previous two films . " Jonathan Romney of '' The Independent '' wrote , " Its cynical wit almost places it in the Billy Wilder bracket : '' Up In The Air '' is as eloquent about today 's executive culture as '' The Apartment '' was about that of 1960 . It is a brutal , desolate film – but also a superb existential rom-com , and the most entertaining lesson in contemporary socio-economics that you could hope for . " Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and wrote , " This is n't a comedy . If it were , it would be hard to laugh in these last days of 2009 . Nor is it a tragedy . It 's an observant look at how a man does a job . " Calling the film " a slickly engaging piece of lightweight existentialism , " Todd McCarthy wrote in '' Variety '' that " Clooney owns his role in the way first-rate film stars can , so infusing the character with his own persona that everything he does seems natural and right . The timing in the Clooney-Farmiga scenes is like splendid tennis . " '' The New York Times '' Manohla Dargis especially appreciated the film 's strong female roles , noting that " the ferocious Ms. Kendrick , her ponytail swinging like an ax , grabs every scene she 's in , " but wrote that the film " is an assertively , and unapologetically , tidy package , from its use of romance to instill some drama ... and the mope rock tunes that Mr. Reitman needlessly overuses . " The '' Chicago Tribune '' Michael Phillips wrote , " '' Up in the Air '' is a slickly crafted disappointment . It feels tailor-made for George Clooney , who is very good . But the stakes remain frustratingly low and it 's one of those contemporary middlebrow projects that asks us to root for a genial , shallow individual as he learns to be a little less the man he was . " Julian Sancton of '' Vanity Fair '' wrote , " There are two movies in '' Up in the Air '' : one about a guy who 's flying around the country firing people , and one about a commitment-phobe who 's flying away from responsibility and a shot at true love , as embodied by Farmiga . There is no attempt to braid these two threads together , and that 's where the movie feels unsatisfying . " J. Hoberman of '' The Village Voice '' wrote , " Like '' Juno '' , '' Up in the Air '' conjures a troubling reality and then wishes it away . The filmmakers have peeked into the abyss and averted their eyes ... the film warns that you ca n't go home again – and then , full of false cheer and false consciousness , pretends you can . " '' Shave Magazine '' Jake Tomlinson gave the film four out of five stars and wrote , " There is a very strong sense of humor as well as emotional depth , yet the scope of the film sometimes limits these sentiments . As a moviegoer , this film provides a satisfying experience where one can take a step back to ponder some of the finer points in our daily lives , but do n't expect to find all the answers here . " '' Up in the Air '' earned various awards and nominations , in categories ranging from recognition of the film itself to its screenplay , direction and editing , to the performance of the three primary actors – George Clooney , Vera Farmiga , and Anna Kendrick . The film received six Academy Award nominations and Farmiga and Kendrick both received nominations for Best Supporting Actress , although the film failed to win any of the awards . At the 63rd British Academy Film Awards , '' Up in the Air '' won one award – Best Adapted Screenplay , awarded to Reitman and Turner – out of the five for which it was nominated . The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association named '' Up in the Air '' Best Picture and awarded Reitman Best Director and Best Screenplay with Turner , and Clooney was given the award for Best Actor . The film also received five nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards , with Reitman and Turner taking the award for Best Screenplay . Reitman and Turner also received recognition for the film 's screenplay from the Writers Guild of America , where they won the Best Adapted Screenplay award
67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
Up in the Air (2009 film)