 Tagline: We are meant for something bigger. --- The very definition of irony! --- A social satire in which a man realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself to five inches tall, allowing him to live in wealth and splendor. Storyline: "Downsizing" follows a kindly occupational therapist who undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time. Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, March 9, 2018 In Writer/Director Alexander Payne's (Nebraska) Downsizing, getting small means living large…or maybe not. To be sure, the movie makes a strong case that shrinking size means shrinking bills, that money stretches because one need spend less to get an equivalent small-size portion. But the movie isn't just about the financial value of miniaturization. It's also, and more consequentially, about how things really don't change even when something major does. In the movie, the decision to shrink is based on a slick sales pitch, with Neil Patrick Harris talking up the life of luxury and opportunity to turn pennies into dollars if one essentially gives their life over to science. What he doesn't mention, amidst the glamorous prospects of living the rich life on a small scale, is the very real and very grim underbelly, the realities behind the just-miniature-scale mansions and millionaire lifestyles. The film explores the contrasting externalities of life at scale and also the notion that the human spirit, and the human condition, don't change at any size. The film is teeming with good ideas, but the question is whether it can do anything with them, bring them together in a meaningful narrative construct. Short answer: kinda, but not really. Scientists have identified overpopulation as the greatest threat to man's survival. The solution is to make more room, not by making the world bigger but rather by making its inhabitants smaller. A major breakthrough has allowed scientists to safely shrink a human being at a ratio of 2,744:1, to be precise. An average man is reduced to a mere 13CM in height. In a few hundred years, they claim, the world will completely transition from big to small. It is, of course, huge news, "the biggest thing since landing on the moon." Some time after the process has been perfected and some people have begun the migration to small, a physical therapist named Paul Safranek (Matt Damon), who isn't particularly fond of the direction his life has taken, convinces his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) to undergo the miniaturization process in an effort to turn their life savings into millions in the small world and get a fresh start on a new life. Their new home-to-be: Leisureland, a place where miniature residents live in unparalleled miniature luxury, where high-dollar items are practically free, where money stretches almost as far as the little eye can see. Their $152,000 in equity will translate to over $12,000,000 in Leisureland dollars. Paul and Audrey sign the papers and prep for the procedure, but when Paul wakes up, Audrey isn't there. She backed out a the last possible moment, essentially leaving him at the altar of science and, after the divorce, unable to live the life he wanted in Leisureland. Now, Paul is forced to take a menial job inside Leisureland, answering phones for Land's End, and living in a modest apartment with a noisy neighbor named Dušan (Christoph Waltz) who lives it up just out of Paul's reach. But when Paul meets a one-legged Vietnamese activist named Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau), he finds renewed purpose in life and ultimately finds himself on the front lines of mankind's very survival. One of the most interesting scenes in Downsizing reveals how, in this new world, people are essentially "processed" in bulk on their way from feet-to-inches-tall. Their heads and entire bodies are shaved (in a scene that looks like tribute to Full Metal Jacket). There's some sort of anal irrigation, dental work to remove anything unnatural…they're nearly treated like cattle, and when the transition is finished, their suddenly miniature bodies lying on full sized beds, they are scoped up with what is essentially a spatula, placed in a new properly fitting bed, and carted off to the life of their dreams…or so they believe. The film doesn't glamorize the small life in the least, except for when the characters, and the audience, hear the sales pitch. It's almost entirely down hill from there. Maybe Paul's experience is an outlier (even Margo Martindale gives the process her approval), but be that as it may it's critical to the movie's essential narrative focus, which is…any number of things, potentially. One of the film's problems is an inability to identify its central purpose and tone. Is it a warning against overpopulation and man's burdening of Mother Earth? Is it a commentary on the human condition? Is it a dark drama or a light comedy? The film is begging for an identity and a rhythm. It's interesting broadly but terribly uneven in execution. The good news is that its central story, visual effects, and performances make it a net positive, even as so many things are working against it. One thing the film does achieve is identifying the moral of the story, the central idea that examines the importance of one finding purpose not in things but in others, in serving, in helping, in enriching. It's a good central point, but the peripherals always feel too scattered to give it the support it needs. Downsizing isn't all that funny, isn't all that dark, isn't all that enriching. The movie can't internally agree on a tone, and the outer end product suffers. It's teeming with wonderful ideas, built around a great concept, and it's certainly watchable and interesting (even engaging) in chunks, but as a whole, united entity it's a bit of a mishmash and a bit of a disappointment. Paramount's Blu-ray delivers solid video, more than capable audio, and a handful of featurettes. Worth a look. [CSW] -3.3- Once I got over the bait and switch and the fact that this would not be a quirky comedy about adjusting to life at a tiny size, and recognized that it was a social commentary on many of the problems our world faces now, only then could I see some of the comedic irony in how those problems were presented. Once others recognize the social agenda aspect they may or may not see any humor in this form of presentation. It drips with irony. Since one of the definitions of irony is "a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result", it is easy to see that even the bait and switch aspect of this movie is ironic. I think I would have preferred some advanced knowledge that this was a social commentary as it would have made the humorous aspects more apparent and kept me from resenting having to "switch gears" in the middle of the movie. People who don't make the switch will dislike this movie and even those who do may resent being tricked. This movie needs to be watched a second time with the new understanding of what it is really about. Unfortunately that usually isn't possible unless you own the movie and after the first viewing, the thought of buying it isn't at all appealing. I find that to be ironic too. [V4.5-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box Note: Start re-watching at the one hour mark for the beginning of the social commentary. You miss all of the decision to downsize, the downsizing procedure, the wife not following through, the divorce papers, the big house lost in the divorce, and the move into an apartment. Cast Notes: Matt Damon (Paul Safranek), Christoph Waltz (Dusan Mirkovic), Hong Chau (Ngoc Lan Tran), Kristen Wiig (Audrey Safranek), Rolf Lassgård (Dr. Jorgen Asbjørnsen), Ingjerd Egeberg (Anne-Helene Asbjørnsen), Udo Kier (Konrad), Søren Pilmark (Dr. Andreas Jacobsen), Jason Sudeikis (Dave Johnson), Maribeth Monroe (Carol Johnson), Jayne Houdyshell (Paul's Mother), Phil Reeves (Audrey's Dad Larry), James Van Der Beek (Anesthesiologist), Alison J. Palmer (Anesthesiologist's Wife), Tim Driscoll (Good Friend Tim [as Timothy Edmund Driscoll]). IMDb Rating (07/01/18): 5.7/10 from 51,979 users
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