Downsizing Review

Downsizing is the latest movie from director Alexander Payne who has made films like Nebraska, The Descendants, and Sideways. The film revolves around man named Paul Safranek played by Matt Damon, and he is currently down on his luck and is having financial troubles. After meeting with an old friend from college who has recently had the procedure known as Downsizing, where people shrink themselves to five inches tall as a way of restarting and in some cases bettering their lives. He chooses to do the same as well in the hopes that it will benefit his life emotionally, mentally, and financially. So, is this a film that everyone should see come this holiday season? Continue reading if you want to find out.

When I first saw the trailer, I thought the premise was very interesting. The idea of one shrinking themselves as a way of restarting your life so it can benefit you is something I believe a lot of people have probably thought of in today’s times. Filmmaker Alexander Payne does a good job of making you as the audience understand as to why some people would choose to shrink themselves five inches tall, so they can go off and live in a secluded colony. Something else that he did so well was immerse you into their world that you did feel like you were five inches tall. I was a little worried that throughout the film we would forget these people are small, but Payne does a good job of putting in a little reminder that the world they’re living in has become so much bigger. Whether it was Matt Damon carrying a huge rose in his arms, someone bringing him a giant cracker to eat, or him having to sign human papers and realizing how small his signature is.

I thought the cast all gave great performances. Matt Damon did a good job of making us connect to him and understanding his character’s reasoning for wanting to Downsize. Christoph Waltz, who played Matt Damon’s flamboyant upstairs neighbor was hysterical to watch throughout the film. Kristen Wiig had a moment in the film, but she gave a good serviceable performance. But the standout had to come from actress Hong Chau, who played Ngoc Lan Tran who was a house cleaner in the small world known as Leisure Land as well as being a caretaker for the lower-class citizens in that city.

From the moment we were introduced to her character she was just amazing to watch, and absolutely stole the show. I can’t recall the last time an actress made me laugh as much as I did last night in my screening. She was hilarious the entire time, but what was also great about her performance was she gave us layers to her character. She made us care about her, understand her background, and gave a ton of heart to her character and this film. I heard recently that she has received nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and the Screen Actors Guild. After seeing this movie, I can understand why and right now she is my pick to win it all.

The comedy for the most part worked. There were numerous of times I couldn’t stop myself from laughing almost out of my seat, but there were a few times the jokes did fall a little flat. Which goes into my negatives for the film. Something else I had a problem with this movie was for the first half of the film it appeared we were going to get a movie about a man who wanted to Downsize, what it was like to be five inches tall, and now live in his world. We got that, but halfway through the film it changes to a whole other story and starts to become more of this sort of environmental political movie.

Obviously, the purpose of Downsizing is to not only help benefit that person who is Downsizing, but also help the world from overpopulation. If something like this actually existed, I could see why it would be a touchy political topic. It just felt kind of jarring how this film shifted from a man Downsizing then suddenly, we’re in Norway with the main characters and they’re now talking to a world-renowned doctor about the environment. Also, the movie ends very abruptly that even people in the audience was a little confused and talking amongst themselves. After certain events had happen in the film you think you’re about to get a defining resolution with most of the characters and they’re world, but instead you don’t. It doesn’t leave you with a cliffhanger or anything like that it just ends, and you’re left with a ton of questions.

So, in conclusion I had a pretty good time watching this movie. I thought director Alexander Payne did a good job of bringing us into this world of Downsizing, and making us understand why some people would choose this lifestyle. The cast were all great across the board, with the biggest standout coming from actress Hong Chau who stole every minute of the film. Right now, in my opinion she is the frontrunner to win it for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars if she is nominated. I thought the comedy worked most of the time, but also fell flat a few times as well. I had a bit of a problem with how jarring the movie shifts from one story to another story, and the ending was also a little bothersome for me. The premise alone is something I would say if it intrigues you then go ahead and give this film a try. I had a good time with the movie, I believe a lot of people will as well if they choose to go see it, and I recommend if you’re in the mood for a good laugh go out and see this film. Overall, I’m going to give Downsizing a B-.