Downsizing

A grey movie with a great idea (shrinking people) that actually ended up being something secondary. You can tell a story like that even in a normally large setting. It will be colorless the same way. A classic about how an internally dissatisfied man comes to happiness, all it takes is for his wife to kick him in the ass and for him to find an Eastern European friend... 50%. (04/28/2020)

There’s no denying Downsizing has many excellent filmmaking ideas and processes that make it an interesting and original movie even today. The main narrative corridor initially is the premise of downsizing people in order to save a moribund Mother Earth, and it dramatises mainly the radical process of physical shrinkage, while the attention is led towards the characters’ getting used to the world of the future, which is described as an incredible adventure to the people of the “past”. After the anticipated key twist, however, Payne defies all expectations and presents an alternative world that essentially duplicates the real one in a small scale, including its social ills, and instead of the adventure and the discovery of the unknown, he focuses on expanding the knowledge of the protagonist, who becomes the dominant of the narration. The differences between the big and the small world gradually fade and blend in the closing part in Norway, which also brings in the idea of that huge, poverty-stricken world represented by the earnest and human Vietnamese girl, while the raunchy playboy Dušan represents that tiny corner of the world where everything is plentiful. Downsizing is definitely a peculiar statement about the state of modern society, though it’s hard to pinpoint in what sense it is actually special: as futuristic sci-fi with elements of social tragicomedy, or as a funny drama about people that portrays big and small social or economical differences with a subtle form of science fiction. Though I think the ending is intellectually shabby and that the potential duality of the fictional world is drowning in indecisiveness about how to best capture said duality (whether through the characters or the environment), I had pretty good fun despite the excessive runtime. I’m adding the fourth star also for the fact that, as it’s usual here, this is a very underrated movie. 70% (10/28/2018)

I want to see this filmed by Wes Anderson! An engaging start takes the audience into an original film world promising unique viewing experiences, but then the creators resort to resolving some interesting issues in a way I didn’t really care for. It is not a case of wasted potential of an extraordinary film event, just a film event for a group of viewers I don’t belong to. Christoph Waltz’s Dušan amused me. I hope he’ll be discovered by the Coen brothers in The Big Lebowski type of comedy! (01/24/2018)

It is almost a sin to turn such an interesting material into a film so uninteresting, boring and without creativity. Matt Damon is going downhill, his quite possibly last good film was The Martian, he has disappointed twice this year and his upcoming film Oceans' 8 doesn't have much of a future. The first hour of the film was still passable and Christoph Waltz gave it quite an energy, but after the arrival of the annoying Vietnamese woman who got on my nerves like no character in a long time, the film degraded two notches and also absolutely deviated from the original concept – I felt I was watching a different film. 40%. (02/11/2018)

I had a little trouble with Alexander Payne every time. The main characters of his stories are always looking for the meaning of life, their salvation, or a new goal, and usually go in endless circles while I often shake my head at how their situation somehow resolves itself. Downsizing is a shock to me for that reason. The main character actively tries to solve his unhappy situation each time, helps others (often by accident or unwillingly), and is constantly moving forward in peculiar directions. In addition, the topics that Payne and Jim Taylor stitched together are such a mess that I could hardly keep up with the necessary moods and settings. Ecology, marriage crises, migration, overpopulation, sci-fi tangents, harmony with nature, the wealthy, loneliness, dead ends of the future. And each time with an abundance of details. This story has everything, and its conflicting reception clearly shows that maybe there is too much for the audience. However, thanks to the presence of about ten familiar favorite faces in the smallest roles, I consider myself one of the most satisfied. (01/11/2018)