Clooney and Kendrick arrive to perform a mass layoff.

George Clooney in an HR role … who among us wouldn’t want to see the most debonair actor of our times take on some of the tasks we perform every day? The prospect is just too delicious — so I headed out to find a theater that was screening the new comedy-drama “Up in the Air,” currently in limited release from Paramount.

In the film, Clooney plays the glib, charming Ryan Bingham — traveling corporate downsizer by profession, and budding inspirational speaker (focusing on having no baggage, of course) as a sideline. He spends most of his time on planes, hence the film’s title, and his real home is not the depressingly empty junior apartment he keeps back in Nebraska, but in hotels and airport waiting areas.

The film’s ad campaign strongly stresses the “air traveler” motif, and our hero does travel constantly, but the phrase “up in the air” is clearly also meant to signify the fates of the people to whom he delivers bad news.

Ryan Bingham works for a management consulting firm that appears to have a very limited focus. Clooney’s character does nothing but perform corporate layoffs — the service offered by his company is to hire out consultants who fly from city to city giving the bad news to workers for employers who don’t want to do it themselves.

Bingham has a catchphrase he uses to ease the downsized person (and himself) through the painful moment. “Anyone who ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you are sitting — and it’s because they sat there that they were able to do it,” he promises.

Then, the aftermath. In the film, the stunned person who has just been laid off is gently urged toward a packet. “In that packet,” Clooney assures, “you’ll find all the answers.” His words are empty and glib — the packet is thin, and the individual is distraught — but Clooney’s job is to get them to take the packet, return their keycard, and box up their belongings. Then he hops on another plane.

Unfortunately, scant mention is made of those whose job it is to help workers pick up the pieces after a layoff — both internal HR personnel and the outplacement firms they hire.

I realize that the film is fiction, but the bleak scenes did turn my mind to all the wonderful services that a good outplacement firm can provide: coaching, assistance with resumes and cover letters, and help in ferreting out job openings, among other offerings. This is the good news that comes after Clooney’s bad news — but “Up in the Air” leaves this part of the story untold. Up in the air, as it were.

The movie has proven to be emotional for many who have lost their jobs in this economy. The film’s storyline (which involves a romance, and a loyalty program motif with Bingham’s favored airline) is periodically interrupted to show stark, candid documentary-style footage of regular people describing the moment when they were downsized. It’s gut-wrenching, and you’ll find many mentions in Internet forums of how grueling it can be to watch.

But as dark as those moments are, most of us who have been laid off fight through them, and in many cases move on to bigger and better things — often with the help of an outplacement service. That’s the part of the story that “Up in the Air” doesn’t tell.

“Up in the Air” will go into wide release in the U.S. on December 25. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions.