up in the air

i watched the movie last month. i didn't get the chance to watch it at the cinema few months back so i bought the original copy dvd. seriously, it's a good movie. now i feel like writing about it even though i could have jobbed this down long time ago. yes, procrastination. still lingers :)

it's about a man who works for a company which offers a service to any organization in a very specialized delicate task of disemployment. in laymen term is, he goes around to fire people out of their jobs. how sick is that? but he is freaking good at it. he's good in everything he does.

but i am here not to talk about george clooney and his cold cruel occupation. i'm here to write about how deceiving this life can be. if we are not careful and mindful enough bout it.

a promising young talent also been assigned to under shadow him. she has to follow him around to learn how to fire people effectively. i can't believe if there's such thing for a living. anyway, the character in that movie also goes all over the states not just to put a formal misery into people's life, but he also gives motivational talks. he fights for this so called "self-freedom" or "self-independence" against the whole crap spectrum of this world. that no one deserves the "unnecessary" headache of the "should not be the thing in the first place" marriage.

believe it or not, he goes around and encourages people not to get married and trying his best to inculcate that it's like a backpack, full of things, so heavy that the straps are cutting their own ways into our shoulder flesh. he has his own sets of wish lists and targets in life to be materialized. and he summons that everyone should forget about marriage and just follow each other dreams. he also tried to convince his apprentice, the girl, that what's the point of having a boyfriend if you know happiness is way beyond your grasp.

he just does not believe in the whole idea of having someone to share his life. his miserable life. he's living in denial. pretending that he's all happy to be alone. being in the air, flying all over the places throughout the year. staying in the hotel most of the time. sheessh, what was he thinking? i've spent most of my sarawak days in the hotel rooms, and i tell you it is not even close to be fun. not at all.

but along the story plots, he met a girl. who is somehow the female version of his. they got clicked, easily, not a surprise. a miserable man meets a lonely girl. what an equation! they do fun stuff together, they laugh, they dance, and they even fall in love with each other. he thought, at least. he thought that she is the one. finally. against his preachings. finally against his conventional belief. he finally thinks that it is time for him to be vulnerably opened to the real love. he feels he is now ready to make a connection.

but the truth is, he is just an escapism for the girl. one day, he went to her hometown, without telling her, for a surprise visit. he showed up at her door, only to be more miserable to know the truth that she's married. with kids. sad but true. and that's how the movie ends. he learns the very hard truth. that he is all alone. he has no friends. no family. and he is getting older and dying. the fact that everyone is dying is traumatizing enough but dying alone is much terrifying.

so what is the lesson can be learnt here?

one. do not ever believe that we can live on our own. we all need others in this life. be it family members, friends, or even enemies, to keep us going. public consummation is the ultimate victory. be good individually is just not enough. being a successful and important team player for a winning team is much satisfying.

two. not everyone is as how we perceived them to be. he thought that the girl likes him and single and ready for his ever anticipated love. but she is not. he is just a contemporary temporary dreamy toy to her dream world, away from her normal life as a mother and a wife. whenever is needed.

three. which is the most unbearable. he has to eat his very own words. he is now walking backwards. against his own quotes. he is now desperate for someone, for someone's love. his self love is just inadequate, not anymore as he finally believes that it is more than all those. he achieved all his targets and dreams. and then what? he knows now the concept "two is always better than one" makes sense.

ouch and triple ouches. ouch, ouch, whoa ouch! it couldn't get any subdued sadder than that, ain't it?