"Downsizing" is a serious movie dealing with serious issues: environmental irresponsibility (including climate change) being the most important and director/co-writer Alexander Payne does in effective job of world-building. It's too bad that the primary story is unremarkable. The first third of the movie is engaging, with a mix of satire and the sci-fi premise of shrinking people. The final 90 minutes is mediocre at best and the denouement just fizzles. The more interesting character is not Matt Damon's Paul Safranek, but Hong Chau's Vietnam refugee Ngoc Lan Tran (in spite of her stereotypical broken English). Because it is her character that delves into the life behind the curtain of opulence that 'downsizing' offers.
In the future, scientists are able to 'downsize' people, an increasingly popular option for cash-strapped middle-class citizens seeking to stretch their money, although envisioned as a way to affect the environment in a positive way. Paul and his wife, Audrey (Kristen Wiig), decide to take the plunge when their mortgage re-fi application is rejected due to a poor earnings-to-debt ratio. They learn that their assets of $150K will be worth $12M in 'Leisureland.' But when Paul awakens from the procedure, he learns that Audrey has changed her mind. Instead of living in a luxurious mansion, he's forced to rent an apartment with an obnoxious neighbor, Dusan Mirkovic (Christoph Waltz) and take a job for a cleaning service run by Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau), who was forced by her government to under go downsizing. It's with her that Paul discovers that even in miniature, the human condition has its 'haves' and 'have nots.' And this is where the initial playful tone becomes preachy and then Payne throws in an 'end of the world' scenario.' Huh? There are some good things about "Downsizing," but the story doesn't support its important concepts.
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