Downsizing presents a promising premise and attempts to tackle deep problems but lacks a tight narrative to deliver these items to the viewer.
Downsizing delivers an epic premise but ultimately it falls short of certain narrative goals that would have helped take it to the next level. This fantastic idea I speak of is that of human shrinking to solve overpopulation in the world, and ultimately save it from all the waste produced by humans. Interesting right? Right, but this movie shows why to some extent at least, the adherence to certain guidelines of story telling will help present complex ideas to a viewer in ways that they can understand.
The movie itself revolves around Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) a middle-aged man with an unfulfilling job and life. He personally feels that he could be doing better for himself and his wife, Audrey Safranek (Kristin Wiig). After attending a high school reunion where he meets a former high school friend, Dave Johnson (Jason Sudeikis), who has undergone the human downsizing procedure. Dave informs Paul about how much better his life and his family’s life has gotten since the procedure was performed. This prompts Paul and Audrey to look at becoming small. After realizing there is major financial gain to be had, and that they can live a life they have always wanted they decide to go through with joining a small community. Ultimately Audrey gets cold feet and does not go through with the procedure and Paul does not know this until his is done and he is now permanently tiny.
What follows is an assortment of events in which Paul and Audrey get divorced and Paul goes through life as a single middle-aged man who is five inches tall and wondering what to do now. He meets shady business man Dušan Mirković (Christoph Waltz), an older Serbian party boy, who takes an immediate liking to Paul and in a weird way tries to help him rediscover himself. He also crosses paths with a former Vietnamese political outcast, Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau), who becomes a new love interest to him as he helps her in her less than glamourous life as a house maid. Through the latter he becomes involved with the very first colony for the small, and the creator of the science behind the idea, and must make choices and discoveries about who he is as a human, and what it means to be human.
The film is filled with good messages and what ifs on Paul’s journey of rediscovery. One such being the tech that makes you be small being used as a weapon, and that of the human populations effect on the planet. There’s a problem though. This movie while having all these innovative ideas and a high-end premise suffers from lack of a true plot. If I’m not clear enough let me touch on another review I posted here. Hell or High Water, written by Taylor Sheridan, presents multiple social issues and issues internal to it’s characters, but it presents this in a tightly wrapped cops and robbers plot. Two men want something in it and this is what happens if they don’t get it and while you go on their journey to get what they want, you are presented with the issues Sheridan wants to talk about. It’s what makes that film as good as it is. This is also the glaring issue with Downsizing, or it’s the fact that they don’t accomplish this feat.
At multiple times in this film I was saying things such as the following, “Oh Paul’s divorce is the conflict in this movie,” that would be followed by this, “Oh…That’s not the conflict.” Then a few minutes later I said this, “Ok he’ll go on some adventure with Dusan and that will be the conflict and plot of the movie,” once again a few minutes later, “Oh…ok, that’s not the core plot either, ok well this deal with the Vietnamese political outcast has to be it…oh ok…well…um…”
My point is that this movie lacked a true three act plot with which to present its ideas and premise with. To top it all off it delivers quite the final statement and the characters reactions to this is odd at best.
The acting is fine enough in it however. Waltz, as always, is enjoyable to watch. Damon delivers well enough as does Hong Chau. It’s nothing spectacular on this aspect, but it’s also nothing that should leave you grimacing. It does leave me wishing I could see more Christoph Waltz, but I don’t think this has anything to do with this specific character he plays, but rather the man himself.
The 4K, as it always does, makes the film a better watch, but like other not so great movies in this resolution, it is not enough to overcome the faults. You won’t be sitting there going, “Who cares about lack of Narrative, we have Matt Damon in 4K on our TV!” This movie furthers my stance that you shouldn’t buy a movie in 4K just because it’s in 4K. You should buy first and foremost because it’s a good movie and then let the 4K add a layer of excitement onto something you already find enjoyable.
Ultimately, I would recommend this as a renting option and maybe even suggest you wait to see if Netflix grabs it up. This is a shame because the film really does have a fantastic idea behind it, it just lacks the clarity and force to deliver upon this.
