R | 1h 49min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 23 December 2009 (USA) In the United States, we seem to have a renewed sense of hope—a light at the end of the tunnel after the recent turbulence of dark and dreary days. But many tend to forget that we’ve been through some challenging times before, at least in first-world terms, such as The Great Recession of 2007–2009. “Up in the Air,” a film that was produced during that period of time, gives us a glimpse into one aspect of that world: corporate downsizing. Here, it is a consulting firm specializing in termination that is hired by company managers who lack the intestinal fortitude to fire their own employees. The film follows one of the firm’s consultants, Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), as he travels via commercial airlines to handle his downsizing duties. The film opens with scenes of Ryan boarding and disembarking …