1. Up In The Air (2009)
Ryan's life consists of all the things we hate about travel. His job has him flying across the United States in order to fire people, thus he hasn't settled and lives out of his carry-on luggage. His world comes crashing down when he's given the news that Natalie (Anna Kendrick), a young hotshot has introduced a new, more cost effective way to go about his job. She's introduced a way Ryan and his fellow agents can fire people from the comfort of their own homes, saving the company millions in travel expenses. In trying to prove a point, Ryan decides to take Natalie along with him to experience a few firings first hand. In their travels Ryan meets Alex (Vera Farmiga), who also travels for her work. They find that they're both similarly turned on by elite status and form a relationship based on that. As the film progresses, both he and Alex become more intimate and closer than he's ever become comfortable with. Ryan even goes so far as to invite Alex to his sister's wedding and the idea of settling down himself seems more viable than he considered possible. In the end, he flies to Chicago to visit Alex and finds that the life she leads at home, isn't exactly what he expected, nor is it what she implied. This film has a lot to do with perception. Often times what one perceives a relationship to be, doesn't necessarily compliment another's perception of what they expect from a relationship. It's a hard lesson learned, but not an uncommon one. The realization that his job is being grounded, puts Ryan in the same position. This grounds him back to reality and forces him to focus on where he's at in his career at his age, and where to take it from there. Through Alex, he finds that she is in fact a key component in living a life more fulfilled. Unfortunately, he comes to find she's already in a relationship and has kids. She saw Ryan as an escape from the everyday, the mundane. Though she misled him, she makes it very apparent that their fling was nothing more. With all of these films in mind, I feel that they not only challenge romantic notions and work outside the genre, but they ultimately make for better films and more well rounded characters. I would argue that there are various facets to romantic relationships and they're not always cut and dry. These films in particular are captivating in that they directly reflect the ideals and perspectives that make relationships so important and lasting. What makes these films so relevant is that they are all as honest and from the heart in their tellings of the modern romance. All of these films break convention in that they don't necessarily lean one way or another despite the actions of certain characters, but they look to express that which is difficult to even begin to gather words for. We've all lost someone important in our lives, we've all felt hung up on someone to the point of obsession, we've all made compromises for others, or felt stuck in a relationship. Everything about every one of these films is relatable and may even strike a chord, but more so than anything, they are honest and all the more endearing for it.