Job stories, "Up in the Air" and "The Ax"

The current film "Up in the Air" is better than expected. While trying to hue to a politically palatable patina, it hits some harsh notes that are stronger than the story of a possessed character, a palliative ending, and the short but beautiful portrait of his paramour's posterior. The job cut shots of our culture are the real undercurrent of this film, one that is perhaps a purposeful attempt to humanize what people experience behind a director and some stars and near stars going through the motions to get this experience out to a broader audience. It's back door substantive, and well done.

It brings to mind Donald Westlake's 1997 "The Ax" which had as a prologue page the following:

"If you're doing what you think is right for everyone involved, then you're fine. So I'm fine." Thomas G. Labrecque, CEO, Chase Manhattan Bank

"The Ax" is a crime novel about an individual's job loss, and it can be taken as an allegory of the impact of job loss. It could be read as just a clever murder story but another perspective could be that it is far more valuable than anything Barbara Ehrenreich or anyone could write about the subjective impact of the loss of hope. Westlake was a perfect writer in his genre(the best), but one who went beyond it for anyone willing to see.

"Up in the Air" is no Oscar film, but there's more to the film than one might expect.