Up in the Air

"The story of a man ready to make a connection."

2009 1h 50m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🔥

90%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 4,156🍅90%Rotten Tomatoes●83Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 357,535

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Corporate downsizing expert Ryan Bingham spends his life in planes, airports, and hotels, but just as he’s about to reach a milestone of ten million frequent flyer miles, he meets a woman who causes him to rethink his transient life.

“The story of a man ready to make a connection.”

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Cast

George Clooney
Ryan Bingham
Vera Farmiga
Alex Goran
Anna Kendrick
Natalie Keener
Sam Elliott
Maynard Finch
Amy Morton
Kara Bingham
Jason Bateman
Craig Gregory
Melanie Lynskey
Julie Bingham
J.K. Simmons
Bob

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jason Reitman
Writers: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jason Reitman, shot by Eric Steelberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rolfe Kent. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dana E. Glauberman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

George Clooney and Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The story of a man ready to make a connection.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1193138 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jason Reitman directs. Eric Steelberg behind the camera. Rolfe Kent scores. Dana E. Glauberman cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.7× over at the box office.
2Released 17 years ago.
3Directed by Jason Reitman, shot by Eric Steelberg. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Rolfe Kent. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dana E. Glauberman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6George Clooney and Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The story of a man ready to make a connection.".
8IMDB entry: tt1193138 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 24 themes, including "suitcase", "business", "omaha", "las vegas".
10Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Eric Steelberg
Original score: Rolfe Kent
Editing: Dana E. Glauberman
Production design: Steve Saklad
Costume design: Danny Glicker
Sound: Gregory H. Watkins
Stunt coordinator: Charles Croughwell
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $166,842,739
Return: 667% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Up in the Air (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 83/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 357,535 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 6 Oscars. 75 wins & 171 nominations total

Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
National Board of Review Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jason Reitman

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

ohlalipop2017-02-09
I don’t really get why this movie got an Oscar nomination. I mean it’s watchable but I don’t think it’s Oscar-worthy. I think this movie is too simple to be nominated. There were some funny parts but it’s more of a “LOL” than “LMAO”. Script wise, it’s nice. It’s kind of real in a way since a lot of people are losing their jobs because of recession. I think that’s one of the reasons why people liked this movie because it is what’s happening right now in the USA.
AlCar2020-05-16
This is one of those movies that takes you in a certain direction but in the end changes course and brings you somewhere else. It was entertaining but the ending was not the one I was hoping for and I felt diminished the rest of the movie.
signsoflife2026-01-09
★ 8/10
Humane, with characters, developments and performances that resonate with anyone currently transiting adulthood and seeing their lives not turn out as expected. Unfortunately, I believe it is the nature of these corporate figure, stoic, cynic, hypocritical characters what might weigh the emotional aspect down for a greater part of the story, only cut through by brief bursts of Kendrick and Lynskey excellence, and eventually, Clooney's character's growth. Overall, the final message is a little cheesily put, specially with the expectation put on romance and family, but I believe the interpretation of companionship is deeply personal at the end of the day. Hits specially hard when you're unemployed and alone in your 20s.