This starts off as a very charming comedy and slips sleekly into something deeper and darker.
There are a lot of elements that I like in this film, especially with the metaphor of being "loyal to one airline" but being loyal to no one in a stable life. Interesting that Clooney's character believes in loyalty to a corporation that only commits you to taking you away from family, friends, etc. He claims he's surrounded by people but they're all strangers, and they're all traveling. There's no real stability. It's a cold kind of lifestyle and that's just how he likes it. But he gets romantically involved with another frequent flyer and starts to question his lifestyle.
Jason Reitman has really established himself as one of the better young directors of our age. I hope he keeps it up. Reitman has a different approach as a filmmaker than his dad, but his effectiveness is the same. Jason Reitman is very good with character development and he lets the characters breath in scenes but doesn't ever let the pace become a problem. He's a very skilled director and I look forward to his future projects.
The standout performance to me is the young "protege" played by Anna Kendrick as Natalie. She is a window character for Bingham (Clooney) and has some funny moments as well as some touching ones.
This is a damn good film, and it certainly deserves Oscar recognition.

out of
