Ryan (George Clooney) is a "termination" expert who travels all over the country to fire hundreds of employees in person. He is a veteran traveller living a solitary existence and spends 80% of his life in planes, airports, hotels and is quite proud of this. His goal is to earn 10 million frequent flyer miles to cement his status. In one of his airport stops, he encounters Alex (Vera Farmiga), an attractive frequent business traveller and they hit it off. They keep in touch and occasionally hook-up whenever their stops allign. One day, his company brings in Natalie (Anna Kendrick), a recent Ivy League grad hired to implement an internet video system that will allow them to fire people remotely, cutting out the travelling process. Ryan strongly fights this new idea since he is very much for a personal, merciful face-to-face termination. To prove Natalie wrong, he asks her to join him on the road to see him in action. On one of their hotel stays, they run into Alex, and all three crash a convention and have fun. Concurrently, Ryan has been asked by his soon-to-be married sister to take pictures of a cutout picture of her and her fiance around the country, since it would be the closest thing to real travel that the couple would ever experience. Ryan invites Alex to the wedding and Ryan realizes that there may be more to them than their casual trysts. On another trip, he spontaneously runs off to Alex's house, only to learn that she is married with kids. He goes back to his company learning that Natalie has quit, and that the old program is on. He earns his miles, which he transfers to his sister for travel. He reflects on his loneliness and knows that things will not change for him.
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Best part of story, including ending:
I like the depiction of human connections and how they can be very complicated. But essentially, it is a story of just relating to one another and accepting things for what they are.
Best scene in story:
When Ryan would expertly weave his way in and out of airports and hotels knowing the inside tricks of the trade.
Opinion about the main character:
His vulnerability was relatable so you feel for his loneliness and you want him to turn out okay.
