With awards season in full swing, it’s always nice to know what all the fuss is about. On Saturday, in the latest awards ceremony on the other side of the pond, Inglorious Basterds won best movie ahead of An Education, The Hurt Locker, Nine and Precious.

Surprisingly, especially with all the publicity surrounding it as a “zeitgeist” movie, Up in the Air was not up for best picture, but its stars – although they didn’t win anything this time – were all nominated: George Clooney for best actor, and Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick for best supporting actresses.

Up in the Air is a great ensemble piece, and it is a movie that has been released at just the right time with everybody probably knowing someone who has recently been made redundant thanks to the credit crunch. It mixes gentle humour with the harsh reality of being fired, added an exra frisson by sacked staff from the real world as talking heads.

Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham measures success through the amount of air miles he can accrue. He has a life with no commitments, until he meets his female alter ego Alex (Farmiga) who causes him to re-evaluate life with the help of fresh-out-of-managament school Natalie (Kendrick).

Clooney plays his role to perfection, and writer and director Jason Reitman of Juno fame captures his faults and foibles to perfection, giving the film a real emotional heartbeat.