Thank you for flying

Compelling characters have been, and will always be, why we pack into movie theaters time after time. Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka, Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone, Robert DeNiro's Travis Bickle — all fascinating creations, all compulsively watchable. More recently, Johnny Depp turned Jack Sparrow into such a charismatic character that he rode the swashbuckling double-crosser to a trilogy of blockbuster hits.

Director Jason Reitman helmed pretty good ones with Nick Naylor, the suave spinning tobacco spokesman from Thank You for Smoking, and the titular teen in his last film, Juno. Although he garnered an Academy Award nomination for the latter, stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody and fast-talking star Ellen Page took most of the publicity.

The central figure in Reitman's latest effort, Up in the Air, is corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (the forever busy George Clooney, The Men Who Stare at Goats). Trained in firm but reassuring empathy, he travels the country and fires deadweight employees so their evasive bosses don't have to.

"Last year, I spent 322 days on the road, which means I had to spend 43 miserable days at home," Bingham laments. "All the things that you probably hate about traveling are warm reminders that I'm at home."

He thrives in the pampered comforts of hotel rooms, rental cars and airport bars. He even delivers motivational speeches on the value of living without commitment. To say his family relationships are strained wouldn't be quite right — they're about as existent as Megan Fox's acting chops.

Bingham, of course, loves on-the-road promotions and rewards, and he is closing in on the biggest travel milestone of them all: 10 million frequent flier miles. Before he can hit that illustrious plateau, however, upstart efficiency aficionado Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick, The Twilight Saga: New Moon) introduces a new company webcam program. Why waste money on airfare when you can kick someone to the curb from the comfort of your own office? Impressed, Bingham's boss (Jason Bateman, Couples Retreat) considers permanently grounding his corporate grim reaper.

This timely tale, based on Walter Kirn's novel, allows Reitman and Clooney to explore one of the most intriguing characters in recent memory. Bingham wows the traveling saleswoman of his dreams (Vera Farmiga, Orphan) by flirtatiously showing off his various club memberships. He gives Keener advice on how to navigate the long airport lines, following a group of Asians because "they pack light, travel efficiently, and they got a thing for slip-on shoes, God love 'em."

Early on, it's effortless to embrace the sheer novelty of Bingham's lifestyle along with Clooney's easy deadpan and irony. Later, it's thrilling to watch Reitman and Clooney peel back the layers of Bingham's persona as he goes through different stages of social self-realization. Cleverly framing his protagonist in the vast airport terminals, Reitman plays at Bingham's self-inflicted isolation. The 32-year-old director also found the perfect actress to be the to Clooney in Kendrick, who brings a matter-of-fact nature, innocent naivety and veiled vulnerability to her role.

Reitman tones down the eccentricity he demonstrated in the fairly heavily stylized Thank You for Smoking and Juno. His touch is a more subtle one. Aside from an outlandish opening bit featuring Zach Galifianakis (Bored to Death), broader laughs are nowhere to be found. It's a quieter story with more understated punch lines. While there are some Edgar Wright-esque cuts and nice aerial shots, Reitman avoids being too heavy-handed with the camerawork.

As with his previous two films, Reitman cast Up in the Air flawlessly. J.K. Simmons (Jennifer's Body), perhaps the greatest scene-stealer of our generation, is unforgettable in one sequence as a distraught downsizing victim. And Danny McBride (Land of the Lost) shows some range in a change-of-pace role after being terribly typecast in his career thus far.

Clooney will probably get a deserved Oscar nomination for Up in the Air, but Kendrick is the real breakout here. Look for her to make some noise as a serious contender in the Best Supporting Actress category, even though she doesn't outshine Mo'Nique's devastating turn in Precious (no one does).

There are stretches when Up in the Air seemingly treads along without reason before Reitman dials up some surprisingly gut-wrenching drama to ingrain the film with a sense of purpose. Tilted toward the serious side of the dramedy spectrum, this movie reaches beyond its gimmicky premise.

With the brilliance of Thank You for Smoking and Juno, Reitman loosely established himself as one of Hollywood's top filmmakers before this movie. Considering this latest overwhelming success, that label is no longer, well, up in the air.

tfloyd1@umdbk.com

RATING: 4 stars out of 5