George Clooney's character in "Up in the Air" - can you relate?

[blogster]

I'm from Australia, where they released  "Up in the Air" on 14 January.  While I thought it was a fantastic movie (something people may agree or disagree with), the thing which also caught my eye was the character study of the role George Clooney plays (Ryan Bingham). 

Here is a guy who revels in his largely solo status.  He engages with people when he chooses and does not feel the need for ongoing connection with them - even his family.

He seems largely content with his own company and you get the feeling that people, by and large, weary him (there's a great scene where he's talking to his sister on the phone while walking through a busy airport lounge and the sister says, "You seem terribly isolated", to which he replies, "Isolated? I'm surrounded by people" - I can REALLY identify with this!).  Conversations with his subordinate and the way he generally carries himself tend to indicate that this is based on an understanding of himself and life's realities.

For him, managing his interactions with people, largely in small, manageable doses, works best (at least in social situations).  And of course, in this force-fed extrovert world, people assume he is being selfish and must be lonely.

I identified greatly with this movie, detecting many classic introvert characteristics in the Ryan Bingham character - any thoughts?

[shelby]

Yes can totally relate - haven't seen such an overtly introverted character in a film in quite awhile. George Clooney makes it work well, even though I had to suspend belief, because in real life, he seems like the social butterfly/playboy type. But as an introvert, was conflicted- I don't think innies have trouble connecting to people per se - just have deeper connections with fewer people. He seems disconnected from everybody, period, which is more anti-social than introverted. Very interesting movie overall.

[Quiet]

Loved the movie especially near the end when he finally gets that private talk with the top pilot and it is anticlimatic.

Yes, I can't think of anything that is so anti-innie as all those social network sites. 

Also, from an innie perspective, seeing all those people everywhere clinging to their cell phones strikes me as almost a psychological problem.  Of course there are many exceptions, but why are so many of these people bringing cell phones to movies, concerts, and lectures! Hardly any of these go uninterrupted. 

It is laughable to see two people on a date, talking to two other people on their cells! Why did they bother?  Why do children have to bring their own cells to meals out or in?  Are they doctors in training?

[Alex]

He does seem introverted yes, but it seems like he also yearns for companionship. One example early in the movie when he comes home to an empty apartment and asks his neighbour over to hang out with him and later in the movie when he looks up Alex

[carlkingcreative]

I did identify with Bingham's essential struggle.

It's not that he's an introvert, he just keeps people at a distance. The movie was heavy in irony, so most evidence of introversion you can find is probably balanced by its opposite in order to keep the dramatic tension high. If he was simply a stock "introvert" the character wouldn't have been interesting.

It was a lot like Fight Club. The protagonist finds a compartmentalized way to connect with his humanity while also clinging to a lifestyle that appears shallow, cold, and corporate. In this case, his emotional connection with people is found through firing them. He took his job very seriously, because it was his only way to experience any intimacy and meaning. When they threatened to take him off the road, he feared losing his only (controlled) source of connection to others. I can relate to that.

Great movie. Glad I watched it!

-Carl.