Jeffrey Clifford

Jeffrey Clifford’s got this knack for being behind the kind of movies that stick with you, you know? “Up in the Air” from 2009—come on, who didn’t get hit right in the feels watching George Clooney drift from airport to airport, his life basically packed into a carry-on? Clifford helped bring that bittersweet vibe to the screen, all that sharp dialogue and the weird comfort of hotel bars and strangers’ faces. Then he comes along with “Labor Day” in 2013, switching gears into this tense, sweaty summer story. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, total opposites, end up tangled together in a mess that’s half escape, half romance—you can practically taste the peach pie and feel the anxiety creeping up your spine. Clifford’s got a hand in making that tension work, balancing all that longing with serious emotional stakes. And don’t forget “Chloe,” another one from 2009, where things get way more complicated. Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried in this twisty, steamy thriller—nothing’s ever what it seems. Clifford knows how to pick projects that dig into people’s secrets and mess with your expectations. There’s always this undercurrent in his stuff, like regular life is just barely holding together, and one weird encounter can flip everything upside down. Whether it’s heartbreak in an airport lounge or a secret burning just under the surface, the movies he’s involved in never really let you off the hook—they hang around in your head, making you question what you’d do if it was you in that story.