Downsizing

Downsizing

Starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig

Directed by Alexander Payne

The Story:
In the not-too-distant future, scientists discover a way to shrink humans down to five inches to help preserve the environment.  Down-on-their-luck couple Paul (Matt Damon) and Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to undergo the procedure because it would guarantee them a better financial future, but at the last minute Audrey backs out - after Paul already underwent the transformation.

Now alone in a smaller world, Paul faces life alone, and he meets his rowdy upstairs neighbor Dusan (Christoph Waltz), and one day after a party at his place he meets maid Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau), and he decides to help her with her injured knee.  He soon discovers a bigger world than he's been living in, and learns a dangerous truth that will cause him to make the most important decision of his life.

The Synopsis:
While the concept was an intriguing one - would you shrink yourself down to five inches tall in order to live a more lavish life? - director Alexander Payne ("Nebraska," "Election," "Sideways") chooses to take this pivotal thought and insert several different outlets to it - focusing on issues like global warming, overpopulation, over consumption, white privilege, and stereotypical stock characters.  Yet, despite these many, many paths, the film doesn't really tend to go anywhere, leaving you wondering what you just watched for 135 minutes.

As I said in my earlier statement, the concept is a fascinating one.  The concept of downsizing is this: you shrink yourself down in an irreversible procedure and live in the life of luxury - complete with a full mansion, no need for a job, and all the special perks that go along with it.  Plus you help save the environment, or something like that.  No one really does the downsizing process to save Mother Earth, but it's a noble thought nonetheless.  What went wrong is the addition of different agendas, as well as the totally inept performance by the lead, who becomes overshadowed by every single supporting character.

Payne tries to tell of the warnings of global warming and overpopulation, which is why the concept of downsizing was first realized, but it got completely overshadowed by the typical American vision: to downsize meant become more rich, not about caring for the environment.  This concept is all but abandoned once Damon's Paul undergoes the procedure, as we're treated to a year of his life as a small person and how he still pines over his lost love and not adjusting to the new life he's living.  There's some rumblings of impending doom and gloom, but they're mostly in the background until they're eventually brought to the foreground in a way that leaves you wondering when that actually happened, and done so in a way that you don't particularly care - you just want the movie to end already.

Matt Damon hasn't had much success recently, the only notable exception being his stint in "The Martian," and here he once again gives a humdrum performance.  He basically blends into the background of every scene he's in, doesn't really advance the narrative, and maintains a youthful boyish charm that's about as charming as Jar Jar Binks.  Every time he sees someone famous, he goes into the whole "boy, oh boy, I can't believe it's so-and-so!"  and you just roll your eyes in utter annoyance.  Alexander Payne tries to portray Damon as the character we'd all associate with, but instead he becomes a laughingstock.

The only upside to this terrible performance is that it shines a light on the supporting cast of characters.  Kristen Wiig does a great job playing Damon's longsuffering wife, but her role disappears less than halfway through the film. Christoph Waltz is the scene-stealer as Paul's upstairs neighbor, a Serbian partyboy who holds the mantra of living life to the fullest. 

Despite these big names, it's relatively unknown actress Hong Chau who really shines here.  She plays Ngoc Lan Tran, a Vietnamese activist who was downsized against her will by the Vietnamese government, and later tried to illegally immigrate to America in a television box, suffering illness and loosing her leg in the process.  When Paul discovers her, she's a peg-leg cleaner for Dusan, and she soon exhibits true humanity in a world seemingly full of self-serving socialites.  She lives in the slums of town - proving that, even though downsizing is supposed to make living better, it doesn't - and spends her time helping the poor and down-trodden.  While her character is easily the most intriguing and fascinating, it's also the most polarizing.  She speaks with such broken English that she comes across as a caricature of Asian Americans, existing mostly for laughs and nothing more.  Nothing could be farther from the truth, as she gives a commanding performance that's already earned her Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and more than likely an Oscar nod too - and she'll probably be the only one of this production to get any sort of recognition, and she deserves it.  It's her performance that salvaged any positive moments this film had.

The Summary:
While the concept was an intriguing one, it was plagued by the over-addition of too many social issues, yet somehow never fully developing any of them.  With an uninspired lead performance, the supporting cast is given the weight, but it also shed a shining light on Hong Chau's performance - for better or worse.

The Score: C