Review: Downsizing

What if, in the not-so-distant future, Norwegian scientists had discovered a way to address the oncoming ecological and economic effects of overpopulation? What if instead of focusing on the dwindling supplies, they figured out how to decrease the consumers by literally reducing them in size? That's the premise of director Alexander Payne's Capra-esque satirical flight of fancy, Downsizing.

Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) is an ordinary Joe, the kind of guy who takes care of everyone to the point of obliterating his own personal dreams. An occupational therapist who still lives in his childhood home and has just paid off his student debts, he's married to Audrey (Kristen Wiig), whose aspirations for moving into a bigger and better home far outweigh their finances. At a school reunion, always a fertile ground for re-evaluating paths not taken and picking at the scabs of insecurity, they run into old friends Dave and Carol (Jason Sudeikis and Maribeth Monroe), who have undergone the miniaturisation process and rave about life in Leisureland, one of the many planned communities for those who have gone small. Paul and Audrey are further intrigued during a tour of Leisureland when Lilliputian sales reps Jeff and Laura (Neil Patrick Harris and Laura Dern) show off the economic advantages of being small - not only do the small get to afford their dream houses, they can buy a whole set of diamond jewellery for a mere $83, which is equivalent to their food budget for two months. Plus, going small helps save the planet! What's not to love?

Now completely persuaded, especially after learning that their total worth of $152,000 translates into $12.5M in Leisureland, Paul and Audrey make the decision to undergo the irreversible miniaturisation process, which Payne obviously delights in depicting. Strongly referencing the visual aesthetics of THX 1138, the sequence follows Paul and the others as they're prepped for the procedure - hair is completely removed as are teeth; otherwise people's heads would explode. The process takes less than a minute before the nurses come and lift the patients from their beds with steel spatulas and wheel them into the recovery room. Once Paul awakens, he realises that things didn't work out exactly quite as expected.

Once in Leisureland, the narrative expands to include Paul's upstairs neighbour, Dusan Mirkovic, a cigar-chomping party boy played with rascally relish by Christoph Waltz, as well as Dusan's cleaning lady Ngoc Lan, a Vietnamese dissident who was shrunk down against her will. Ngoc Lan is brought to vivid life by Hong Chau, who provides Downsizing with its most resonant comic and emotional beats. Spending time with the hilariously no-nonsense Ngoc Lan exposes Paul to the same social, racial and economic disparities that existed in the world he left behind.

Downsizing is a superb, big-hearted and humane offering from Payne that often veers into the most unexpected corners. Technically flawless and emotionally rich, it offers keen insight not only into ingrained societal behaviours but also into the human condition. It's the nature of men to want to survive, to long for and work towards a better life, and to squander the gifts that they have been given, but the underlying message in Payne and Jim Taylor's pitch-perfect screenplay is reminiscent to the one in Frank Capra's classic It's a Wonderful Life: stop diminishing yourself by thinking of what could be, but rather see and appreciate what already is.

Downsizing

Directed by: Alexander Payne

Written by: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Starring: Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz, Udo Kier, Hong Chau, James Van Der Beek, Jason Sudeikis, Laura Dern, Neil Patrick Harris, Maribeth Monroe, Margo Martindale, Don Lake, Niecy Nash