Starring
Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Udo Kier, Kristen Wiig, Jason
Sudeikis, Rolf Lassgard, Maribeth Monroe, Ingjerd Egeberg, Neal
Patrick Harris, Laura Dern. Directed by Alexander Payne. (2017/135
min).
Here's
another strong reason why people should probably pay more attention
to who's creatively responsible for a film rather than its pandering trailer. Writer/director Alexander Payne isn't known for
gimmicky, high-concept movies and he sure as
hell didn't start with Downsizing.
Yet
ads and trailers offered it up as a big, fun,
FX-driven sci-fi comedy with Matt Damon experiencing the joy of
tapping a giant vodka bottle (a scene which didn't actually show up in the final cut). It wasn't really fair to audiences or Payne, who wrote and
directed a more somber and thought-provoking film than that.
As
a solution to overpopulation, climate change and Earth's depleting
resources, a brilliant Norwegian scientist develops a technology which reduces people to five inches. At that size, not only do they
consume less of everything, even those with relatively few assets can
suddenly afford lives of luxury. Years later, Paul Safranek (Matt
Damon), an occupational therapist who once had bigger dreams, sees this as a chance to do
something important. His wife, however, backs out at the last second. Since the procedure is irreversible, Paul's stuck living on his own in Leisureland (the community
where everyone who's been "downsized" live).
 |
| "Yeah, I was expecting Steve Martin to be here, too." |
For
a time, Paul is lonely and bored, working as a telemarketer and
befriending Dusan (Christoph Waltz), an aging Serbian playboy who
hosts wild parties every night. Then he meets one of Dusan's
housekeepers, Ngoc Lan (Hong Chau), a Vietnamese political prisoner
who was shrunk against her will and shipped to America. Through her,
he discovers Leisureland isn't quite the utopia he was led to believe
and that downsizing has done little to change the social injustices
plaguing the rest of the world. The story takes an even darker turn
after Paul accompanies Dusan to Norway to the village
where the very first downsizers have been living - in relative
isolation - for decades.
While
it's not exactly Honey, I Shrunk Matt Damon, Downsizing
is sometimes very funny for reasons we're led to expect. But
Payne also has something important to say about humankind's inherent
short-sightedness, apathy and egocentrism. Infusing some biting
satire, he doesn't paint an optimistic picture of the world or
its future. In fact, there are moments when the story is kind-of
depressing, especially when Leisureland is depicted as a little more
than microcosm of the world its inhabitants supposedly wanted to save.
 |
| "Sorry...I ate all the crackers." |
The
film is a bit overlong. The first hour, in particular, is pretty
meandering - almost aimless - until the real story kicks in,
which is full of surprises and as engaging as it is intelligent.
Aside from a boatload of gratuitous cameos (mainly during the first
act), the characters are interesting, as are most of the
performances. Damon is...well, Matt Damon, but Waltz & Udo Kier
are wonderful in roles which seem tailor-made for them. The best
performance, though, belongs to Chau, whose character becomes
emotional crux of the film.
Downsizing
is smart, enjoyable and poignant, not at-all like the film we were sold. That's arguably the biggest reason it undeservedly came-and-went in theaters within a few weeks. But perhaps it'll enjoy a second life on home video, being a
very rewarding experience once the viewer knows what to expect.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
PROMOTIONAL
FEATURETTES: "Working with Alexander"; "The Cast";
"A Visual Journey"; "A Matter of Perspective";
"That Smile"; "A Global Concern"
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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