Downsizing is a 2017 drama/sci-fi film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Payne and Jim Taylor. The film stars Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, and Kristen Wiig. It tells the story of a couple who decide to undertake a newly-invented procedure to shrink their bodies so they can start a new life in an experimental community.
Boy oh boy did this film not turn out the way I expected it to. So I will admit I have been looking forward to this movie for some time now. When the original synopsis came out I was instantly intrigued, but come the second trailer and some bad early reviews I began to lose my hope in Downsizing very fast. As for the movie itself? Yeah.. It didn’t really recover either.
So Downsizing has a lot of issues that really make this film a bad film. But one of the better parts of this film is its cast. Although most people might compliment Damon for his stellar acting, I think that the real star of this film was Hong Chau. This woman is absolutely fantastic and is killer at her role. Not only does her character have so much depth to her, but she also brings a lot to the playing field as well. Damon does do a good job in this film, but he is definitely shadowed by Chau. Christoph Waltz was just alright as he seems to play the same character in almost all of his films, and there really isn’t much to Kristen Wiig’s character either.
Another stunning piece to this film was its visuals. There were plenty of times where the scale was so well done that it almost seemed believable, and although this film might not seem like the kind of film that would be graphics heavy it really is. The reason why I enjoyed the visuals was because they weren’t apparent. Everything seemed so natural and real that I truly felt immersed in this film’s universe.
But other than the acting and visuals this film is pretty awful. The worst part of Downsizing has to be its horrible pacing and plot. Not only does it not understand what it wants to be, but it takes a long time trying to do so. The film begins as a science experiment, then a drama, and then into a disaster film. It has such a hard time sticking to a genre that it almost seems like a dark comedy at times as it feels like the director is just trolling the audience come the end of the film.
The films also lacks good explanation as for why it becomes a “disaster film.” Sure it’s an environmental issue, but why do the events play out the way they do when the third act begins to finish up. The film never explains the true issue to us normal people so it never feels like it gives the audience enough context. That’s one of the biggest problems about Downsizing as it just doesn’t understand itself or what it wants to be. It’s honestly really sad since this film has so much potential yet uses none of it in the long run.
There really isn’t much more to Downsizing since this film is such a hard film to watch. It has good acting mostly coming from Chau, but other than its visuals this film’s lacks true purpose and fails in almost every regard. I really wanted this film to do well since its screenplay had so much potential. That’s ultimately what Downsizing is, a film that is more or less lost in what it’s trying to be rather than working on what it could be. So in the end I decided to give Downsizing a “Bad” on theVade Review Bar. Just like this film’s premise, if you want to see this film don’t go out and see it on the big screen.. just wait for it to come to the small one, but like this film.. it might be too late.
