Reviews & Ratings for
Downsizing (2017)

In the future, searching for a way to solve overpopulation and global warming, Dr. Jørgen Asbjørnsen invents "downsizing", an irreversible process to shrink people to a height of five inches (12.7 cm); he and his wife Anne-Helene become part of the first human test subjects once the process is proven safe and demonstrate it to the world. Paul and Audrey Safranek, a married couple in Omaha with financial problems, meet Dave and Carol Johnson, who have downsized. While the inventors advocate that downsizing is environmentally friendly through the reduction of waste, Dave argues that its benefits extend far beyond that and improve one's life through the increase in value of their money.

Exploring the possibilities of downsizing, Paul and Audrey agree to undergo the process and move to Leisureland, New Mexico, one of the most popular communities for small individuals. After undergoing downsizing, Paul receives a call from Audrey, saying that she was unable to go through with the procedure and, by opting out at the last minute, will be leaving him.

One year later, Paul finalizes the divorce with Audrey, and settles in to his new apartment (a downsizing of its own from the mansion he was to originally share with Audrey). Although Paul had anticipated a life of relative ease, the divorce left him without Audrey's share of their assets. In addition, Paul's share of the assets shrank further still due to divorce settlement negotiations. Paul, whose occupational therapist license had lapsed and faced a re-certification process due to Leisureland being in another state, now works as a customer service representative for Lands' End. While attending a birthday party, Paul has a discussion with Dave and says that he regrets his decision to downsize. Soon after, Paul breaks up with his girlfriend and attends a party hosted by his neighbor Dušan.

The next morning, Paul notices that one of Dušan's housecleaners is Ngoc Lan Tran, a Vietnamese political activist who was jailed and downsized against her will. Ngoc Lan was the sole survivor of a human smuggling attempt to the United States in a television box and had her leg amputated upon arrival. Attempting to assist Ngoc Lan with her prosthetic leg, Paul returns to her house in the slums outside of the walls of Leisureland. After assisting Ngoc Lan's dying friend, Paul attempts to repair Ngoc Lan's prosthetic leg only to break it and render her unable to work. In return, Paul works for Ngoc Lan's cleaning service where he also assists in gathering food from around the city that Ngoc Lan distributes throughout the slums. Dušan attempts to release Paul from his obligation by taking him to Norway, the site of the first small community, with his friend Joris Konrad, but Ngoc Lan also wishes to come along. Ngoc Lan had received international attention after her arrival in the United States, including personal correspondence from the inventor of downsizing, Dr. Jørgen Asbjørnsen, who had previously invited her to Norway to express his regret at the abuse of his procedure.

While traveling in a fjord, Dušan's yacht encounters Dr. Asbjørnsen and his wife, Anne-Helene. Dr. Asbjørnsen announces that humanity is doomed, as the positive feedback of Arctic methane emissions[1] cannot be stopped, and will result in the eventual extinction of the human race. Arriving in the first colony, Paul is shown that Dr. Asbjørnsen planned for such a contingency with the creation of a large vault inside a mountain to insulate the colony and preserve humanity in the event of an extinction. Paul is excited to enter the vault and asks Ngoc Lan to join him. She rejects his offer, saying that he does not need to enter the vault and can do good in their community by returning. Paul enters the vault, but changes his mind and leaves as the door is closing and subsequently the stone above blasted to seal the occupants inside, choosing to return with Ngoc Lan, Dušan, and Konrad.

Having returned to Leisureland, Paul assists Ngoc Lan in her duties of providing needed aid and supplies to the people of the slums.

This review was written after a screening on day 9 of my London Film Festival experience, which included 25 films and a Curzon preview of The Square, and you can read the rest of my coverage on my Tumblr. Keep in mind this premiered on Friday the 13th.

Downsizing was a nightmarish experience. The couple in front kept stretching their arms out and lighting up their phones, the bloke next to me guffawed like someone who’s just discovered comedy for the first time, and because of the supposedly limited availability of the Circle, we get to suffer down here in the Stalls watching each other take piss breaks every two fucking minutes because there’s a bog in each corner of the room. And it didn’t help that I was one of the few not laughing at this overlong, overindulgent and horribly meddled excuse for satire from a director I once had confidence in (even when he was an asshole).

A 135-minute-long comedy that could very well have been the first six episodes of a sci-fi sitcom ala The Last Man on Earth, which Kristen Wiig was killer in during her limited presence, Downsizing is the kind of film that boasts “Look at me, I’m so intelligent! Overpopulation! You’re all gonna die someday!” but tries too hard to live up to its promise, never making use of the time it has to build on the relations between its two worlds after three slightly amusing time skips and getting so lost in its fantasy concept that it loses immersion by the dozen. When I first heard of this film I imagined it wouldn’t be nearly as invested in CG or any other Hollywood stain as this. Good lord almighty, was I wrong.

To construct its social satire it dabbles in stereotypes which are practically embodied in poor Hong Chau’s misdirected character performance, that is supposed to convey a complimentary message on immigration but what she spouts is a gobsmackingly outdated combination of Engrish and a hamfisted Vietnamese accent. Now, this is not played for a joke like what Paramount could tolerate in 1961 or 2009 and she committed her character with self-awareness, yet despite the accent she must be a sympathetic character, right? I guess? As an immigrant without children forced into a position by an overbearing government, I can’t see why she wouldn’t resonate, but the smugness and blatancy of Payne’s satire, the poor man’s Idiocracy if you will, outweigh her character’s potential and this specific trait distracts from what matters most about her. Chau comments on the matter:

“All of these people who have this vague feeling that they have a problem with this character, they have no problem going and getting a mani-pedi from some cheap nail salon, they have no problem buying mass-produced clothes from child workers in Bangladesh, they have no problem with a bunch of other stuff, but they have a problem with my character, who is so multifaceted and complex and well-written — they have a problem with her because she has an accent.”

I call bullshit on this movie’s twisted ego. Since her character is more distractingly annoying than she should be, this does not excuse anything. Why not just drop the English? It would make the chemistry between her and Matt Damon a ton more poignant. Chau, I hate to say this, but you deserve better.

Small person jokes and all, it’s not even funny most of the time Matt Damon spends as a tiny person away from Kristen Wiig whose future is uncertain but definitely should have been explored to some extent. Not even Christoph Waltz can redeem it. I can’t believe this was built by Alexander Payne, because it feels like nothing more than a stock director’s stereotype of the Charlie Kaufmans of our time. 2017’s most cynical and misguided execution of an undoubtedly intriguing sci-fi concept for humanist satire since Netflix’s The Discovery, and the worst film I have seen in all seven years I’ve attended this festival. I wish I didn’t type more about Hong Chau than anything else in this review, I wish I could look past that quibble and appreciate her character for who she really is, but this is what’s wrong with the white man’s Oscar cinema in 2017. Honey, this shrunk my temper.