LOUISA: 
LOUISA SAYS:
What a disappointment “Downsizing” turns out to be, a nearly complete waste of an incredibly original concept from director and co-writer Alexander Payne. I can’t believe this is the same artist responsible for “Sideways,” “Election,” and “Nebraska.”
Paul (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) are living stressful lives, stuck in mundane jobs and feeling the crunch of financial pressures. When scientists discover a way to shrink humans, miniature communities crop up all over the world, promising a life of luxury and leisure. The couple decide to take part in the permanent “downsizing” process, and the movie explores the aftermath of their decision.
Damon plays Paul as a dull, garden variety nice guy. Christoph Waltz shows up in another one of this signature monotonous roles as a creepy, smirking neighbor. Neither character works and neither are people you’ll actually care about, yet the most intriguing person is Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau), a blunt Vietnamese refugee. While Ngoc is the strongest personality in the film (with a terrific performance from Chau), most everything about her is unsettling due to her character’s thinly veiled racism. Hold your nose as she speaks in broken English for comedic effect, takes up residence in the immigrant slums, finds work as a maid, and finds her white male savior. What should’ve been a game changing character becomes little more than a caricature.
It’s a shame that such a terrific story is so poorly executed. The film feels like three distinct movies in one, which leads to an indecisive exercise in the frustrating. The first third of the film is interesting, clever, and peppered with biting social satire about the scientific discovery that could potentially solve the world’s problem of over population. The second third becomes a distasteful tale of a white man’s redemption by aiding a person of color, and the remainder (which is reminiscent of an end-of-the-world cult movie) is just about as trying as a film can get.
Strangely enough, each element works individually but becomes a jumbled mess as a whole. It’s a grand scale exploration of even grander ideas, yet those bold concepts never quite come together in a cohesive unit. The result is an absurd, disingenuous, and preachy film with flailing satire that lands with a resounding thud.
By the end of the film’s 135 minutes, Payne has unsuccessfully crammed in a laundry list of topics ranging from the criticism of materialism, the government and cults to failed statements about social class, immigrants, global warming, and the American Dream. How ironic that Payne stumbles by reaching too big in a film about being so small.
That’s sad to hear. I had such high hopes for this movie. You noted that Payne was trying to make statements about all sorts of issues. I guess it always pays to concentrate on one or two things, but to go in depth and produce quality. Great review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am a HUGE fan of Payne so I was doubly disappointed. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you get a chance to see it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The, ‘it wasn’t terrible’, category, eh? 😀 … I’ll see it when it goes DVD/digital for a considerably downsized fee than a cinema ticket. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This certainly doesn’t read like a 3-star review. More like a 2-star. Haha.
Yeah I decided to skip this one. The red lights were all around me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, it’s weird because if it had been split up into three different movies, it would’ve been a solid movie. I was rating it on the three separate parts. I don’t know how else to describe it, it’s just….bizarre.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow… now I kinda want to see this movie to see what you mean! hahaha
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have to see it! I would LOVE to hear your take on it. I really loved the first third, sort of enjoyed the second part (except I really did find it oddly racist), and the third part was, well, I’m not really sure!
LikeLike
I didn’t think this movie would ever end. It was a jumbled mess. If you must see it wait for Netflix.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“How ironic that Payne stumbles by reaching too big in a film about being so small.” A perfect closing line for your review. In these insane times I appreciate a film whose message which basically boils down to “stop worrying about the end of the world and start working harder to help those you can.” However, you’re right about the structure being so jumbled, resulting in three different movies parading as one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t seen Downsizing, but it seems there are some good ideas here that have gone to waste. Shame. And I just wish Christoph Waltz would take up better roles! Fantastic review, Louisa. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Waltz but he always seems like he’s giving the same old performance. This character is different for him, which I liked, but his performance was exactly like every other one he’s done. It was a bummer for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really felt the only story worth watching was the first. It was the story advertised, it was the story I paid to see, and it was the only story I haven’t seen before. Unfortunately, the first story was COMPLETELY ABANDONED about 40 minutes in. If you came acrosss this movie after that point, you might not even realize the characters were miniatures? I didn’t pay to see a boring man realize personal meaning through an immigrant, and I didn’t pay to see characters contemplate the state of global apathy. I paid to see miniature people do things normal people could not. …..and it never happened. 👎
LikeLiked by 1 person