For Farmiga, films driven by dialogue Co-star of 'Up in the Air' with Clooney says chemistry lies in banter By Tom Long Detroit News Film Critic Toronto Vera Farmiga thinks she knows what creates romantic chemistry in a movie. But then, she should know -- she has it like crazy with George Clooney in their widely lauded new film, 'Up in the Air.' 'It's banter, it's really good banter,' she says. 'And the banter is tempo, and that creates frequency' -- now she's beating on a table with her hands -- 'like an erratic ping-pong match. 'Also, it's when the parts are written very equally. When the female characters have as interesting dialogue as the males, and are just as sharp, as sexy, as witty, as clever as their counterpart,' Farmiga says. Sitting in a posh hotel room here during the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Farmiga -- who is probably best known for her role as both Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio's lover in 2006's Oscar-winning 'The Departed' -- thinks the chemistry in 'Air' also has to do with director Jason ('Juno') Reitman's approach. 'I think Jason's terribly old-fashioned in the way he crafts romance in his films. It's something you really do root for, just by virtue of how two people talk to each other,' she says. 'It happened in 'Juno,' too; that was a relationship you really rooted for.' A lot of people are certainly rooting for 'Up in the Air,' the unlikely story of a guy (Clooney) who spends most of his life flying around the country conducting layoffs and finds his perfect on-the-fly counterpart in Farmiga's businesswoman character. It has already claimed a bushel of critics' awards and seems destined to be a major player on Oscar night. The success should be a nice change for Farmiga (pronounced far-mee-guh), who's had a recent history of highly praised performances in films that never really reached American audiences. Last year, there was talk of an Oscar nomination for her role as an outed CIA agent in 'Nothing But the Truth,' but the film barely opened. She also played the wife of a concentration camp commander in last year's hard-hitting drama 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,' which was a big hit in Europe but faded quickly in the States. 'It seems like my karma. It's happened to me time and time again -- 'Down to the Bone,' 'Never Forever,' 'Striped Pyjamas' -- so I'm used to it,' she says. 'It is quite disappointing each time, because these are certainly things I've invested myself into. 'But they do tend to have a shelf-life,' she says. 'It's funny. I don't get recognized for 'The Departed,' it's obscure films really.' When she does get recognized, it's probably not in Hollywood, because she doesn't hang out there. Farmiga, 36, grew up the second of seven children born to Ukrainian immigrants, raised in a Ukrainian community in New Jersey. In her teens, she was a professional Ukrainian folk dancer. Which probably at least partly explains why she lives on a farm with the son, Fynn, she had just before filming 'Air' and husband, Renn Hawkey, a musician and carpenter. 'My down time is spent in very remote upstate New York in a very simple life. I don't live in Hollywood; I live far away where I have a wonderful vantage point,' Farmiga says. 'I live amongst real people, not people pretending to be people. I spend so much time in my head that I really want to be physical, so gardening is very important to me. To connect with the earth and have animals and grow my own vegetables, that's very, very important to me,' she says. But her love of acting is obvious, both on screen and off. 'I get great gratification when something I've been a part of hits in a way that makes people reconsider things and makes them see things in new ways,' Farmiga says. 'That's the thing that keeps me going.' tllongdetnews.com (313) 222-8879 Vera Farmiga Born: Aug. 6, 1973, in Passaic County, N.J. Family: Married with one son Career notes: Starred opposite Heath Ledger in 1997 TV series 'Roar.' In 2000 played the daughter of Christopher Walken in 'The Opportunists' and the daughter of Richard Gere in 'Autumn in New York.' Played both Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio's lover in 2006's 'The Departed.' 