For some film directors, being nominated for an Academy Award is the culmination of a long career of blood, sweat and tears. Martin Scorcese only won his award after years of excellent work and brutal defeats after promising nominations, and he’s not alone in that journey. While receiving an Oscar in the category of best direction shouldn’t be seen as a validation of a terrific filmmaker, it’s a symbol of years of accumulated talent.

If you’re like 33-year-old Jason Reitman, however, you’re an anomaly. It hasn’t taken the man fifty years for an excellently crafted film like Up in the Air to get Academy accolades, only an adept hand at working with other people’s written material, a fine eye for social commentary and dialogue, and perhaps the slight leverage of bearing the last name of one of comedy’s most renowned filmmakers, Ivan Reitman.

That’s not to say Reitman doesn’t deserve this nomination: he’s had a brief career that is almost flawless in terms of craft and diversity. His first mainstream hit Thank You For Smoking, based on the book by Christopher Buckley, introduced the world to the director’s knack for burying biting and hilarious satire within one of the most despised professions one could fathom: that of cigarette spokesman Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart). Reitman evoked all of the seedy-yet-relatable charm from Eckhart’s performance, while also creating a visual aesthetic that really benefits the film, particularly in conversations between Eckhart, David Koechner and Maria Bello.

What’s more is that Thank You For Smoking had depth and social meaning, so rare amongst studio comedies. Reitman would return to that well two years later for 2007′s award-winning Juno. While the story of pregnant youngster Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) and her relationship with Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) has received immense backlash for the kitschy dialogue of writer Diablo Cody, one cannot deny the direction of the film, which is stylistically perfect for the subject material. Films like Youth in Revolt have taken the Napoleon Dynamite-goofy-indy framework and mangled it, Reitman uses it perfectly in Juno, creating something emotive and relatable and often very funny.

This year’s nomination for Up in the Air is certainly the most well-refined item in Reitman’s career, the pinnacle of his swift development into a great filmmaker. Less comedic than his previous two films but also quite funny, not a tear-jerker but also incredibly moving, Reitman has balanced the two worlds upon great performances by George Clooney and Vera Farmiga. Up in the Air is topical and heartfelt, and while Reitman may be outmatched by the age and experience of the other directors in his category, his film certainly is not outmatched in terms of their craft.

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