George Clooney plays a guy whose job involves a life of airports, planes, hotels and firing people.

It took director Jason Reitman six years to write the screenplay for his third feature Up in the Air but the film has a certain poignancy to what’s going on in the world today.

Clooney plays Ryan Bingham a guy employed to fire people for a living. Bring into the equation Natalie, a fresh faced graduate played by Anna Kendrick (Twilight) who comes to work at the same firm as Bingham. There’s also Alex (Vera Farmiga) a kind of female counterpart of Bingham. Bingham and Alex start a casual relationship but as the movie progresses confirmed loner Bingham might want something more.

Speaking at the Gala screening of the film at the London Film Festival Reitman was quick to point out that although the movie’s relevant as it has people dealing with losing their jobs it’s as much about how we can physically connect in the age of online communities. Clooney and Kendrick’s characters learn a lot about themselves through their interaction. Reitman’s clever direction and characterisation also gives us an interesting role reversal where Farmiga’s character adopts masculine traits and in doing so balances Clooney’s character almost as the man by the side of the women.

Just like his previous films Juno and Thank you for Smoking, Reitman’s movie works subtly without any histrionics and delving on a few levels in posing questions and allowing for audiences to clarify their possible standpoints.