Downsizing

I don't really understand why it has such low ratings. And I was truly puzzled by that during the first half of the movie, as I thought the premise was original and interesting, the plot was engaging, and the actors were all great; I was loving it. But then it starts declining in quality and pace, and towards the end it feels like the story doesn't quite know what it wants to be or convey. That's a real shame because it could have been truly great from beginning to end. So it would be a bit difficult for me to recommend unless you're just a fan of any of the actors as they are giving they're best here.

The easiest part to get of writer/director Alexander Payne's sci-fi comedy, Downsizing, is the allegory of shrinking ourselves and our possessions to miniature to save the planet from our excess yet become miniature plutocrats in the process. The more challenging part is to understand how he can pack climate change and economic decay also into his themes.

Paul (Matt Damon), an occupational therapist who at best is just a nice guy, and his ambitious wife, Audrey (Kristen Wiig), decide to have a richer life by downsizing, but contrary to our conventional use of that term. To shrink means to have a bigger miniature mansion, the kind he couldn't afford in a regular size that his shrinking paycheck keeps him from. Of course, in his decision to help out the planet, he is really helping to mitigate his envy of his richer friends in their McMansions.

Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor deftly move the Twilight-Zone story into a melodrama that stresses the humanity of a man who forsakes family and friends for a seemingly higher purpose such as saving the environment. However, it still comes back to greed.

At least until Paul experiences caring for those less fortunate than he, for those shrunk but still with relatively nothing, viz., the poor, the immigrant, and the sick to name a few disadvantaged souls living in a ghetto-tenement world far from the eyes of the advantaged. Once Paul witnesses real poverty he can never turn back to his truly shrunken life of excess and worthlessness.

Where Payne veers from the staples of his drama is bringing in an apocalyptic climate change, a danger not even appearing earlier. More than that misplaced motif is that he has nicely set up already the humanity that will save Paul, who must choose between survival and being together for however long with the ones he truly loves.

Downsizing is rare, a comedy in sci-fi mode with a toolbox of social concerns. It's a child of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with a Twilight Zone spirit, and it's a pleasant holiday diversion.

I wouldn't describe this movie as a comedy. Actually, the script touches a very important topic in my opinion. The trailer only showcases the first half of the movie, but all the exciting stuff comes after that. I would say this movie is actually about more than the fun aspect of being able to live life at a perspective from 10 centimeters tall. It's about the way life can be cruel, love and making decisions. Nice movie, absolutely worth the watch.

After seeing "Downsizing" I now understand where the bad reviews originate from. This movie was marketed to the masses as a funny miniature movie, while it's message of how to deal with global warming, is probably only engaging for an arthouse movie crowd. It is truly an intelligent, righteous, thought provoking and caring movie. Like ALL movies from director Alexander Payne are.

But however good (7 stars) this picture might be, lots of people went to see it expecting something entirely different. Just to avoid more frustrations based on the wrong expectations, I have made a short list by which you can check if this movie will annoy you depending on your expactations. You probably WONT be pleased if you are someone who doesnt believe global warming is caused by oil and coal companies that burn fossil fuels in massive quantities. It is though. 98% of the climate scientists say so, based on decades of research. You WONT be pleased either if you are expecting a fun movie with Kristen Wiig because she only performs a meager 10-15 minutes. You WONT be pleased either if you expect a straight story with Matt Damon whom you so admire from his Jason Bourne actionhero movies. Because in "Downsizing" Matt Damon plays a humble and sensitive normal person, who wants to take care of poor and foreign people in need. You WONT be pleased either if you are expecting a funny miniature movie. It is NOT about that at all.

"Downsizing" is ALL about global warming and the dangers it exposes to us as humans. And it is about the choices we can make. It truly is a unique piece of work. Hilarious at only a few moments, because it is not a real comedy. Jokes are made tongue in cheek, in a satirical way. That sort of humor/drama isnt understood by the masses. This movie is really intelligent and heartwarming. But what it really is, is baffling. Because "Downsizing" depicts OUR world. We live in it. We have responsibilities to act upon the dangers global warming exposes our children to. We can choose to make a difference. Or we can stay indifferent.

"Downsizing" is a mirror to our consumer society which runs on oil and coal and if we dont act soon the CO2 emissions will destroy the world as we know it through global warming. I love people who dare hold up mirrors to our society at large. Most people dont like to be told something is wrong with the way we live nowadays however. Alexander Payne is one of the very few directors who dared to try to hold this mirror up to our way of life. I recommend this picture VERY MUCH to all those who DO wanna care about our children's future, who DO wanna care about stopping global warming. These pictures are very rare nowadays, but we need them NOW more than ever before...

It took Alexander Payne 10 years to get this movie made, because the subject of the story is not very popular. It is certainly not his best work, but it is his most RELEVANT one. Because in the end we all have to ask ourselves the question WHAT we can do to guarantee a prosperous and safe future for our very own children and grandchildren. This picture was director Alexander Payne's most personal one. He dedicated it to his late father George, who died on the very day this movie premiered...

Hong Chau performance was amazing, the story was universal and went beyond the science Fiction touching that human part we all hide inside. Truly enjoyed this film, felt it very human.